The empty Chamber
by broken mind
Summary: Terror has struck again. Unforeseen mysteries start to unravel but Sam and Dean have a hard time protecting Lucy and Lauren when the whole town stands against them. Who is friend and who is foe? Chapter 7 Part 3 FINALLY ONLINE! Please R&R!
1. 1 Part 1

**I.**

Dean closed the door of the car behind him and walked over to the house. He did not look back to his brother Sam, who still sat on the passenger's seat of the old black 1967 Chevy Impala. They had had a fight, again. Over the same thing as always. Sam wanted to call it quits. Again. He was such a fickle person. Dean had always been the determined one of the two brothers. Their father's training had been hard but from what he could tell, it had been worth every single drop of sweat and blood. They were doing something to relieve people's pain and also their own pain. But unfortunately, it didn't seem enough for Sam. Sam wanted Jessica back, that was all he could think about.

Dean tried hard to understand his younger brother, but he never could. Every time there was a new twist and turn in him that he hadn't known about before and each time he had a hard time adjusting to that. He knew that Sam hated everyone and everything so much it nearly consumed him from the inside and there was nothing Dean could do about it.

And now they were here, in front of the house of the Hawkings in Richmond. Dean had found this article in a newspaper telling about their youngest daughter who was said to be possessed by demons. Two people were dead already, both the father and the mother, and four other people were in a serious condition in the local hospital. The authorities had her locked up in a medical facility, running tests, finding nothing, blaming everything on the 12 year old girl. That was always the easiest way out, Dean thought. He had seen the strangest things, had faced the oldest demons but he had never understood why people blamed other people for supernatural phenomena and even killed these other people. Of course, it had been a common practice. The witch-burnings were a good indicator for that.

"You coming?" he shouted but Sam didn't move. Dean hated these fallouts with his brother. So he would have to establish the first contact alone.

He rang the doorbell, once, twice, but no one answered. Then he knocked. Nothing. He knocked again, this time with a bit more force and the door swung open. No one seemed to be home.

"Hello?" he shouted. "Anybody home?" He stepped in, moving carefully, eyeing the surroundings carefully. He had learned everything there was to learn from his father John but even though he knew what he was doing, he had to be careful. You never know what was going to happen. Dean felt a little tired. He hadn't been sleeping well lately. Mary was in his thoughts again. Even though he never admitted it to his brother, he knew exactly how Sam felt about the loss of Jessica. He took a few more steps, then he stopped dead in his tracks.

In front of him stood a thin blond girl, not older than 9 years, dirty and only wearing an old-fashioned white sleeping gown. She didn't cry but Dean noticed that she must have been crying before because he could see where the tears had washed away some of the dirt on her face. Her long brown hair was caked with mud.

"Hello there?" Dean said with a funny face. "Looking good today! Is your dad home?"

The girl didn't say anything.

"Or your mommy?"

Still, the little girl didn't reply.

"Can you tell me where to find them? Are you all on your own? Where is everybody?" He made a few steps towards the girl who stood there like a sculpture. Her eyes followed his move but still, she didn't say anything. Suddenly he heard footsteps from behind. He spun around.

"She doesn't speak." The unfriendly voice belonged to a thin young woman. She looked like the small girl, so Dean assumed they were sisters.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Dean tried to explain why he was in here in a wide gesture of his arms.

"Lauren? Go upstairs and take a shower, darling, will you?" The tiny girl turned, ran up the stairs and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Nice girl…" Dean said, trying to be funny.

The young woman said nothing. Her huge green eyes were reddened and the clothes she wore, a long brown sweatshirt and white shorts, were too big for her frail body. Still, she was beautiful, to a certain level. But the sadness that was so obvious about her was so powerful that Dean wished he had not said anything.

Minutes passed and the uneasy silence stretched on like a chewing gum. Finally, the woman cleared her throat. "Why are you here?"

"Ah…well, I'm…I'm from the Daily Mail, a journalist?"

"Right…" She didn't seem convinced.

"Yes, ah…yes!"

"You better get out of the house or else I…"

"…call the cops?" Dean joked.

"No, take that rifle and shoot you!" She was damn serious. Dean looked to the right and saw a brown rifle leaning against the doorframe.

"Well…" He took a few steps backwards, away from her and away from the rifle. "No offence, but are you sure you want to shoot me? You don't even know why I'm here?"

"Didn't you just say you were a journalist? Those just come to make a story out of the incidents that happened here. Those blow up a story about a little girl who is supposed to be responsible for what happened. Those bring more pain. And those belong to a kind of people that I don't want to have around me or my sister. So please, get the hell out of here!" She moved towards the rifle.

"Ok, so I'm not a journalist."

"Guessed so. You're not as persistent as they are. They never give up easily." Her face twisted a bit.

Dean looked at her intently. "I want to help…"

Now she laughed. "Help? How. Kill her?"

"What? No!" He raised both hands. "No!" he said again. "Why would I do such a thing?"

She laughed again, but this time it sounded more like a snort. "Why? Why not? The people here made a sport out of it."

"No, I just want to help."

"Thank you, but no thank you. We don't need help. Nobody can help us anyway."

She again took a few daring steps towards the rifle.

"Listen to me! We can help you. My brother and I…", Dean pointed through the still open front door, "…have some experience with things like that." That was not exactly the truth, but he was sure that they could at least be of a bit of help.

"You're a priest then?" Her face hardened. "Get out, right now!" She jumped over to the rifle, snatched it and pointed it at Dean. She released the safety and her finger tightened around the trigger. "Get out!" she said through clenched teeth.

"We can help! And nobody will get hurt, ok? Put that thing out of my face and let's talk, alright?" He paused for a moment. It was time for the truth now. "My name is Dean Winchester. I want to help!"

She didn't move.

"All we heard is that the river turned red and that the people here think that the child, I assume it's your daughter, is possessed. People are dying. We can help here. We can find out what is going on."

"It's a lake, not a river! And she's my sister!" she hissed, but she lowered the rifle. It seemed to Dean as if she suddenly grew even frailer. All the anger that was on her face before was not there anymore, only sadness and exhaustion.

"Oh, ok…sorry." He flashed her one of his charming smiles but it didn't work on her. She still had this suspicious expression in her eyes but he could feel that she was tired of fighting. Whatever it was she was fighting.

"Can I come in? I mean, officially?"

She waved a hand, almost dismissively, when she turned around but Dean took it as a yes. He followed her into the living room where the tiny girl already sat squatted on the large sofa. Now she wore blue jeans and a green shirt with a Mickey Mouse logo printed on the front. Her hair was still wet, but she was clean now. The TV was on.

"Oh I love the Smurfs!" Dean said with a big smile on his face. He sat down next to her and looked really happy. He then shot a glance at Lucy and pointed at the TV. "Smurfs!" While he was pretending to watch the TV show, he scanned the room. There were many pictures, mostly pictures of the family. One caught his attention. It couldn't have been old, because except for the sadness and the skinniness of both of the girls, they looked about the same age as today. The parents were on that picture as well. They all looked very happy. He had to suppress a sigh.

"By the way, my name is Lucy. My sister's called Lauren." She sat down on the other sofa.

"I'm Dean." He turned to her.

"And our parents are dead…" Lucy said, almost matter-of-fact. Dean suddenly remembered. That was what he had read in the newspaper. Now he felt a little stupid.

"But Lauren didn't do it. She didn't do any of the things they accuse her of. She's just a girl…" She started to cry and buried her head in her hands. But this weakness lasted only for a moment or two. Quickly, she regained her composure and wiped across her face. Dean finally understood. This was the girl he had read about. This was the girl that everybody thought was possessed.

"Sorry for earlier, old habits die hard, I guess…" she whispered.

"It's ok, you know I'm kinda used to being threatened with a gun."

She gave him a questioning look but he waved his hand dismissively. Lucy didn't ask.

"So…what happened?" Dean inquired now.

Lucy watched her little sister, but Lauren didn't seem to be bothered by the presence of the stranger in any way. "You said you came here to help. How much do you know?"

"We read reports about the red riv-…lake and about your sister. And since Richmond was kinda on the way, I thought we could drop by and see if there's anything we could do. But I have to know everything to be able to help."


	2. 1 Part 2

Lucy sank back into the cushions. "When the first murders happened, she hadn't even been born." Lucy nodded towards Lauren who was still busy watching the little blue creatures on the TV screen. "Mom was giving birth that night when Dr. Stevenson and his wife were found dead. He was the doctor who had taken care of her. And during the next night, the four Stevenson children went missing or better, that's when they were reported missing. The nanny couldn't find them anywhere but they thought it was some kind of normal reaction to their parents' death. I guess they already suspected Lauren then.But no one ever said anything. All the mothers kept their children away in the following years and mother hid Lauren in her room. She never went out, she was never allowed to, but that was ok for us. The people around here are very superstitious." It almost sounded like an excuse. Dean cocked his head to one side. Lucy smiled politely, but the worry on her face touched him.

"And then, our parents…" Dean saw Lucy's eyes fill up again. "…on Lauren's 10th birthday…No one knows how they died, and I think that no one wants to investigate on that. They've already found their scapegoat. Although, nothing was ever proven. But when the small lake just behind our house turned red, people began to ask questions." She paused again.

"And the four injured people? What happened to them?" Dean asked. Ok, he had to admit that he had thought that Lauren was younger when he first saw her. So she was older than 9 years old.

They began to…" she paused and looked at Lauren who was still watching the show. "…to…harm us."

"What?" Dean couldn't hold back that sharp remark.

The girl looked at him, then looked down on her lap where her hands lay folded as if in prayer. Suddenly she raised one arm and pulled back the sleeve with her other hand. There were burn-marks, scars and strange cuttings, Christian symbols. She quickly hid her arm again when she saw the look on Dean's face.

"I am sorry…" she whispered.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for!" Dean replied in a low voice. "Nothing…"

Lucy's big eyes went from green to nearly black. "Those people…I'm not sure what happened, but when they left the house, they were fine. They went to the lake to see if what they did already had an effect on the water. But obviously, it didn't have any effect but to piss someone off big time. I found them the next morning, badly mutilated but still alive. I called the ambulance and last thing I've heard, they're still in the hospital, but they're alive. And the local authorities just don't see that Lauren could have never done such a thing. I mean, look at her! She's a small girl and she'd never be able to do something so horrible to another person."

Dean only thought that sometimes, looks could be deceiving but he didn't say so.

Suddenly, Lauren coughed. Lucy jumped up immediately and knelt down before her. "Is everything ok, sweetie?"

Lauren nodded but she didn't look well. Lucy turned back to Dean but kept on kneeling before her little sister. "Maybe I'm a bit overprotective, but…" she cleared his throat and fell quiet.

Dean let the silence hang between them like a curtain for a moment, then he spoke up. "What happened then? You have to tell me everything, Lucy. Everything!"

The girl stared at him for a second. Her eyes were wet with upcoming tears. He quickly searched for something to reassure her because he damn well knew how hard it was to give all the painful information that was necessary here. And he would not push her, even though he also knew that they didn't have time. From what he already had heard from the people of the town, he knew that they would have to act really soon.

"Please, Lucy…" He began but Lauren interrupted him.

"Sam? Come in and sit down here beside me. We're watching the Smurfs…" Her light voice brought a smile to Lucy's face. All three of them turned towards the door, where Sam stood, leaning against the doorframe. He looked confused. Dean and his brother exchanged a glance. How could this girl know his name?

Lucy glanced from one brother to the other and then back to her little sister. "She hasn't spoken in months…" she whispered exuberantly. "She…"

Dean put one hand onto her arm but quickly pulled it back. He remembered what she had shown him.

"It's ok, you know? I don't mind, as long as she's safe." She reached out for Dean's hand. "Make her safe, please?" The look she gave him nearly broke his heart. It was a mixture of a sad and hopeful smile but at the same time, it was so powerful that it reached his inner core. He took her hand and held it in his. "I'll try…"

He shot a look at Sam who nodded in agreement.

Sam had been watching both Lauren and Lucy from where he stood, especially Lucy. He saw her hands and her lips tremble. He saw the soft movement of her chest when she breathed, he even could make out the fine lines of veins under her slightly tanned skin and the tiny freckles on her face. He noticed the light which fell in through the window play with the different shades of blond highlights in Lucy's brown hair. Finally, he looked into her big green eyes where he saw nothing but sadness. And he remembered where he had seen this kind of sadness and fear before, in his mom's eyes and in Jess' eyes, right before they died. And suddenly he felt something he had not felt in a very long time, he felt the need to protect her. And for the first time since Jessica's death, he was ready to give everything. Even though this was a scary feeling, he began to feel whole again. Jessica's death had torn him apart and left him hanging in midair. He didn't have anything to hold onto except his brother Dean. All he had wanted to do in the past years was to find the demon that had killed his mother and his girlfriend. That had been all he could think of during the day and during the night. But now, things had changed. Everything had changed. Sam was certain that it was not only because of Lucy or her sister – which by the way did not appear to be obsessed at all, just frightened. He had changed.

After a while, Lucy continued to tell her story. "The second strange thing that occurred after the blood in the river was the dead fish and frogs that fell out of the sky. Suddenly the kids at school got lice, and the people at the retirement home were attacked by aggressive flies. Then the animals got sick, and the cattle, pigs and dogs, they all died. The priest came to our house and begged of Lauren to let go of the satanic practices and took her with him for a few days and when she returned, she had stopped speaking. He said that she was possessed and the exorcism didn't work. He would have to have someone come from the city. That was 3 months ago, just before those people got injured. The priest is dead, too…found dead by the lake. They blamed Lauren…again." She gave a short laugh. "Priests. They always try to explain everything with their stupid faith and book. They think they can pray everything away. But they didn't realize what they did to us when they said that this is the punishment of God for what Lauren did. But she didn't do anything! She's just a child and she's the only person I have left. And I won't let them take her away from me." When Sam looked into her eyes again, he knew that she meant what she said. She was willing to suffer for her sister. She would not let anything happen to her as long as she could do something. And even though she probably had absolutely no idea what was going on, Sam was sure she would fight. And they would help her.

"How did your parents die?" It was the first time that Sam said anything. Lucy turned around at the sound of his voice. In that instant he wanted to take back that question. The horror was clearly written on her face. It must have been truly horrible.

But Lucy managed a lopsided smile. "They…died in a fire…" she whispered and backed away from Lauren. Dean turned towards her and while Sam stood up and followed Lucy to the other sofa, he put one hand on his brother's shoulder.

"One night, about 2 years ago, right on the night before Lauren's 10th birthday. Someone set fire to Lauren's bedroom and both mum and dad died in there."

"Mom was flying to the ceiling…" Lauren whispered but she didn't look away from the TV. Sam and Dean spun around. "She was trying to protect me but they wouldn't let her. She was crying. And then…"

"…then I pulled her out of her bed and ran outside. Everything was burning…Dad tried to…" Now the tears were flowing freely down her cheek. Lucy couldn't fight them any longer. She blinked and then covered her face

"It's ok, I understand." Sam said quickly and put one hand on her knee to soothe her. It happened almost unconsciously but it was to late now to take it back. "Did you see what Lauren saw?"

"See what?" Lucy cried.

"Your mum burning on the ceiling?" Sam immediately regretted having to be so direct and bring back painful memories and bit his lower lip.

"I don't remember!" She was desperate. She wiped across her face and dried her hands on her brown sweater. Then she brushed through her hair with both hands. "I don't know what I've seen, ok?" She calmed down a bit and lowered her hands to rest them in her lap but Sam's hand was still there. Suddenly, their hands touched. For the moment being, it felt good, her hands were warm and still a little wet from her tears.

"Listen, Lauren's just a child and children have some sort of weird imagination sometimes. Maybe she was just making…" Lucy said and pulled back her hands.

"…making up things? Believe me, I'm sure she wasn't!" Sam grunted. Lucy looked at him in question but he decided not to tell her what happened to his and Dean's mother 22 years ago. She was already too freaked out. He could still feel the warmth of her hands which now slowly faded away.


	3. 1 Part 3

Dean watched the whole scene. His brother's weird behaviour brought a smile to his face but it also gave him the creeps. Another woman had died the same way as their mother. But in contrast to the last case they had on that, Sam didn't have visions about Lauren or Lucy killing anybody. But Sam did have such a connection with Max, whose mother was also killed by the demon who killed Mary Winchester. So, was Lucy's and Lauren's mother also a victim of this son of a bitch-demon?

"Ok, ok, let's not freak here. We have to stay focused." Dean finally said when Lucy started crying again. "Was there anything else? What about the night Lauren was born? You said something about a doctor?" It was better to change the topic. Sam didn't look too well right now.

Lucy snuffled and glared at him. "What?"

"Yeah, you said something about the doctor and that he died the night Lauren was born?"

"Oh…" it seemed to come back to Lucy. "Yeah, I guess I said that. Sorry." She snuffled again. "I've been trying to forget everything but things just started to get weirder and weirder. Yes…the doctor…" She thought for a moment. "It's been 12 years now. I cannot remember everything, but Dr. Stevenson and his wife died the night Lauren was born. As far as I remember they were found dead in a room in the basement, badly mutilated, just like the people down by the lake, I guess. And here is the one thing that I just don't get…" She looked at Sam. "There is no way that Lauren could have known how the bodies of the Stevenson's looked like. I kept everything away from her." Her voice was shaky but she kept talking. "But I couldn't stop them from taking her away from me. They locked her up in a cage and tested her like an animal to find out what was wrong with her. But there was and there is nothing wrong with her. Whatever happens here has nothing to do with my sister!" Her voice suddenly had a sharp edge to it. Sam watched her intently. She brushed through her hair with both hands and twirled the brown and highlighted strands back into a ponytail. When she let go again, the hair fell gently over her shoulders. "Sorry, I know I'm not much help here but I was only a child back then…maybe there are some filed reports in the library or so…" She smiled lopsided and raised both hands. "I don't know more…"

"That's ok…" Dean got up. For the blink of a moment he did not really know what to do. He looked out of the window. There were three men standing on the street, and all three were watching the house. Then Sam got up, too. He noticed that his brother was staring out of the window and when he took a look himself, he turned back to the sisters.

"We'll do some research, Lucy. And we'll be back soon, ok? Best would be you stay put." Lucy's sceptical look made him frown. "Please? Stay in here. Wait for us." He walked over to the window and locked it.

"What…?" Lucy began but she didn't go on. She understood. She didn't know why she trusted these two guys, but until now, they were the only hope she had. They had not tried to hurt them, actually, they were the first to ever believe her.

"Lauren? Please go upstairs and lock the windows, ok?" When Lauren didn't move, Lucy walked over to her. "Please, sweetie. We'll have dinner then, ok? What do you want? Mac'n'Cheese? Would you like that?" Now Lauren smiled. "Go, sweetie!" Her older sister smiled as well and pointed towards the stairs. "Go."

Lucy watched her sister run upstairs, then she turned to the brothers. Her face clearly showed the sorrow and the anger that was inside her.

"We'll be back soon!" Sam promised when he walked towards her. When he passed her, he gently put one hand onto her shoulder and she looked at him intently. Her eyes seemed to have changed colour. They were green before, weren't they? He was sure of that, but now they seemed blue.

"Come on, we better get going!" Dean now said and nudged his brother. Sam smiled at Lucy, then he moved across the hall towards the front door. Dean followed him but before they left, he turned around once more. "Lock the door and let no one in until we return, ok?"

Lucy nodded. She had already spotted the three men on the street. When Dean stepped out, the frown on Sam's forehead had deepened. His lips were pursed as if he was thinking about something to say but he just couldn't find the words and he wasn't even sure what to say. He wanted to encourage Lucy but how could he? He admired that she was willing to do everything to protect her sister. It also made him think of Dean and how his older brother had always looked after him. He suddenly wanted to thank Dean for everything, but there was no time, and it was definitely not the right moment.

Lucy closed the door behind them and locked it. When she didn't hear their footsteps anymore, she moved over to the window in the hallway and peered out. She saw Sam and Dean on their way to the car when they were approached by the three men. Lucy couldn't hear what they said but she knew that it wasn't good.

Then she heard Lauren coming down the stairs. She turned around and smiled. "Let's eat, sweetie!"


	4. 2 Part 1

**II.**

The two brothers had almost reached the car when the three men who had been watching the house came closer. At first, Sam thought of ignoring them but Dean had other plans. He turned around and smiled at the strangers. Sam noticed that they did not return the gesture.

"What were you doing in there?" the tallest of the men inquired without hesitation.

"Good morning, fellas. What a nice day!" Dean joked but the angry glare of the three men told him that it was no use, again. They came closer, almost threateningly close.

"What are you doing here?" It didn't sound like a question.

Dean held up his hands as if to keep them away. "Wohwoh, easy boys! We're reporters, Daily Mail? Tried to make a story here…but well…" He said with a sheepish smile.

"Reporters? Well, you stayed inside for quite some time." The men didn't seem convinced.

"Yeah, but they didn't want to tell us anything…" Sam said, carefully eyeing the strangers. They obviously weren't that happy to have them here.

"These people are better left alone you hear me? And we don't want strangers around. If you stay you might end up dead by that lake!" The tall man pointed towards the house. "You don't want to get involved in things you don't understand."

Sam cleared his throat. "Maybe you can help us shed a bit of light on this case? What's happened here?"

The tall man let out a low growl. "That bitch inside is possessed by the devil. She murdered her own parents, and also the old doctor and his family. They were renowned here in Richmond. Best doctor and such. People liked him a lot. First the doctor and then her own parents. She is the reincarnation of the devil. The four poor schmocks in the hospital won't make it long." He seemed reluctant to share what he knew. But Dean's puppy dog eyes always did their job.

"You shouldn't be here. Go back to your city and stay out of our business. We'll take care of that."

"Take care how?" Dean asked but Sam nudged him with his elbow. 'Let's go…' he implied with a motion of his head.

Dean hesitated for a second but then he nodded. "Thanks guys…" He moved towards the car. "And thanks for nothing…" he whispered but his brother heard him. He shot him an angry glance.

"Get out of this town, boys! Don't stick your nose into things that are none of your business!" the tall man yelled after them. His two companions had already walked over to the house. Sam and Dean opened the doors of the Impala and turned around one last time. The tall man was still watching them, the others were intently watching the house.

"Man, that was strange…" Sam breathed when he closed the door after getting in. He watched the three men in the rear mirror.

"Yeah, I wonder if they're going to throw a burning cross into the garden…" Dean said.

"What?"

"Just kidding! They probably know that it's not much use…Guess they've tried it before. Have you seen Lucy's arms?" He had a shocked expression on his face.

Sam didn't say anything to that. He had seen the injuries on her arms and he was sure that there were more. He had been quite surprised that she had shown them without hesitating, but when he now thought about it, he kind of understood how desperate she was. She didn't care what others thought or said about her. And she didn't care what others did to her. When he looked at his older brother, he noticed that Dean was not too convinced about whether those men did it or whether the wounds were self-inflicted.

"You know what's strange, too?" Sam asked his brother who turned and looked at him. "I was wondering, Lauren was 10 years old when the demon came…"

"So you really think it was the demon?"

"I am not sure about anything anymore! As far as I know and what Dad told us, the babies were 6 months old when the demon came to get them. I was 6 months old when mom died. What is going on here that it happened so late? I'm sure it was the demon, his way is unmistakable. But why at this time? And why here? There is no baby…"

"Maybe we should ask Lucy about that. Maybe she knows something." Dean said. "And we'll do some research. I'll go check the police records and you…"

"…yeah, I know, I'll go to the library…" Sam rolled his eyes. "Let's go and get this over with."

"Wow, wait, you just can't wait to get back to her, eh?"

Sam gave his brother a taunting look. "No, I just want to make sure that they're safe. Remember, you gave Lucy your word that you would protect Lauren…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Dean growled and returned his brother's glance. He jammed the key in the lock and turned the ignition. The V8 engine started immediately.


	5. 2 Part 2

Both were quiet during the drive. Sam had been looking out through the rear mirror until the house was out of sight. He was worried about the three men, but as long as he could see them they just stood there, menacing but not doing anything.

Dean dropped his younger brother off at the public library.

"Sam?" He yelled as he drove off.

"Yeah, what?" Sam turned around.

"Don't forget the newspaper!" Dean shouted back. "I'll pick you up in 2!"

Sam only waved one hand. Sure, he wouldn't forget the newspaper. It had become almost a ritual to first check the local newspaper for anything that could be of interest. But he had only 2 hours now.

The library was a modern building from the outside but inside it looked like an old dungeon with many badly illuminated corridors. There was only one computer and even that one was not occupied. There was no one in here, only the personnel and they seemed pretty bored. So, as soon as Sam stepped in front of the counter, the three women were all over him. They all wore the same clothes, black skirts, white blouses, like the typical library workers in the movies did. Sam smiled politely.

The women looked at him in shock first when he inquired about the incidents that involved the Hawking and the Stevenson families but after he had told them his story – that he was a journalist from the Daily Mail on the quest of an American story, at least two of the women, the younger ones, warmed up to him. They brought him the relevant books and newspaper articles from the archive and helped him sort everything. Still, the older woman remained suspicious.

"You sure don't look like a journalist. The ones that came here were…" she paused and scrutinized him thoroughly. "…older!"

Now Sam wished that Dean was here with him. His older brother would have had the perfect answer to that ready at hand. "Well, I…I guess it' s better to have an early start?"

That didn't help it. But Lindsay, as one of the younger women had introduced herself, shushed her older colleague.

"Cut him some slack, Sally, will you? When was the last time we had such a handsome man in these halls?" she giggled.

The latter retreated but still watched Sam as she sat down in one corner, pretending to go through some papers. But Sam felt her watchful eyes as he browsed through the material Lindsay and her colleague brought him. Lindsay stood next to him, peering over his shoulder, showing a great interest in what he was researching.

Sam turned his head from time to time but she didn't realize what he was trying to imply. Every time their eyes met, she had a broad smile on her face while he tried to return it while suppressing a roll of his eyes and biting back unfriendly remarks. There was only one way to get rid of her.

"Do you also have something about…ahm…the 10 plagues?" he said, flashing her a charming smile.

"The what?" Lindsay smiled back at him.

"The 10 plagues? Or maybe, if you don't have anything on that, the bible?"

"Sure, I'll see what I can find…" She turned away but Sam had seen the perplex expression on her face. He hoped that she wouldn't ask any stupid questions.

"Oh, and please?" Sam said when she was moving away. Lindsay turned to him again. "And today's newspaper?"

She nodded and left. Sam sighed. He reopened the book which he had in his hands. An article had caught his attention. The book was a recollection of Richmond's newspaper reports from 1993. That was the year when Lauren had been born and the article he now looked at contained a picture of the lake behind the Hawking's house. It showed the house from a side view on the left side, the lake was in the middle of the picture and on the right side there was another house.

Sam read through the article below the picture but that didn't help him much. It only said that there were inexplicable incidents in that night that got the Stevenson's killed and that the Hawking's were supposed to be involved in some way. Nothing more. The more he searched in this book, the more desperate he got. He didn't find anything that led him on a trail of demons, possessed people or any supernatural phenomena.

He quickly walked over to the copying machine and copied the page with the picture on. Then he went back to the desk. He put the book down and took another. This time it was a regular book, which had nothing to do with what he was searching for but he wondered what it was doing here. He quickly browsed through it and found a newspaper article from yesterday's paper. This definitely didn't belong in here.

'Haunted house being torn down. Demolition proposed to start on July, 24th.' Sam's interest was peaked. Haunted house? Another mystery? But that just wasn't possible. The brown-haired young man carefully picked up the book with the article pressed against the pages so that the others couldn't see what he was doing. After a moment, he closed the book and put it down. It was Lucy's house. They wanted to tear it down because the mayor had convinced the rest of the town to finally end all these terrible events. He, too, or so it seemed to Sam, believed that Lauren was responsible for everything that happened. So, what did they think was going to happen after they had torn down the house? Obviously, they expected Lucy and her little sister to leave the town. Now Sam began to wonder why they hadn't done that beforehand. He would ask Lucy about that later on.

When Lindsay came back and put the books down on the desk, Sam thanked her with a short nod and began going through the new books. There was nothing of interest in today's newspaper and only one page – a summary of the 10 plagues – in the bible. He copied that page as well and then returned to the table. Then Sam remembered the picture he found. He searched for Lindsay and smiled. She approached his table.

"Lindsay? Can you help me with something? I found this picture…here…can you tell me what this is?" Sam held up the picture an pointed to the house on the right side of the image.

"Oh, that was the Stevenson's house." Lindsay explained. She seemed happy to finally have something to say. "What a tragedy. I remember that my mother always took me there when I was ill. Every child was treated there. He was a good man and a better doctor." She cast a nervous glance back at the older lady behind the counter.

"All the pregnant women as well?"

"Yeah!" Lindsay smiled again. "Why are you so interested in that? Are you trying to find out something about the possessed child?" She said down opposite of him. "You should not do that. Leave that kid alone. She and her sister have been through a lot already."

"So…you're saying…" Sam ventured on.

"Yes, I don't think she did it, but well, what do I know?" She had lowered her voice until it was barely audible. Sam had to lean forward to catch everything she said. "There are mysterious things going on here…and it's not the child…I'm sure!" She quickly straightened up. Her worried look told him that she was scared to say things like these. Sam made a mental note to pay her a visit later and find out more.

"So thank you, Lindsay." He said after a little while. "And say thank you to your colleagues for me, too. You've been a great help. I always get lost in libraries." He lied and flashed her a smile.

He picked up his few copies and what notes he had jotted down – which weren't many – and stood up. He saw Lindsay walking back to the counter. The two other women were there as well, staring at him as if he was some freak. Well, he was, wasn't he? Sam let out a sigh, then he turned to go.

Dean was nowhere to be seen, even though it was 3 pm sharp. Which meant that the two hours were up. A nagging feeling in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't been eating anything since yesterday.

"Dean, come on…" Dean was never late. So, that meant that either he had found something that was of interest or he had picked up a girl. Sam wasn't sure which one he preferred. None right now, so much he knew. He was hungry. He waited a few minutes, and when he looked at the library window, he saw Lindsay's two colleagues almost pressing their noses against the glass. Sam looked away quickly but he knew that they had seen him looking back. With a slow movement, he pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He quick-dialled Dean's number and waited impatiently for his brother to answer the phone. It took about one minute.

"Hello?" came Dean's sleepy voice.

"Hey man, where in the world are you?"

"What?"

"I'm waiting here, dude! You were supposed to pick me up here?"

"Oh yeah, right! I know, I'm on my way!"

"Yeah, you better be!" Sam ended the call. He was upset and sat down on the rim of the sidewalk. It had just started to rain. "That's just great…" he muttered to himself.

He waited for more than 30 minutes before he finally saw the black Impala pulling up in front of him. Sam jumped up in a hurry and walked over to the driver's door. He yanked it open and nearly pulled his brother out of the car.

"What are you thinking? I've been waiting here for like…forever!"

"Dude, calm down! I've been busy!"

"Yeah, right! Busy! With whom?" Sam inquired, his voice having an angry edge to it.

"Well, there was this beautiful young…"

"God, just forget about it, ok? Don't ask, don't tell…" Sam slammed the open door close, then he moved over to the passenger's side and opened that door. When he got in, he let out an upset sigh.

Dean looked at him. "What's wrong, little brother?" He smiled.

"You wanna know what's wrong? That's wrong!" He extended his arms to show what he meant. "You're late, I'm soaked and hungry! And I found out a couple of interesting things." He let his last sentence hang in midair.

Dean was silent for a moment. "So?"

"So what?" Sam asked back innocently.

"What did you find out?"

"Let's go, I'm starving, man. I'll tell you everything I've found out over lunch."

"Why? Do we have time for that?" Dean replied with a smile.

"Why not? Hunting demons requires a good health and a full stomach…" Sam said with a frown. "Don't tell me you've already eaten!"

Dean's big grin gave it away. Sam elbowed him and sighed again.

"Sorry, Sammy!" Dean said, joking but he felt that something was wrong with his brother and it was definitely not because of the fact that he had to wait or that he was hungry. The issue with Lucy was getting to him in a more intense way than his brother would ever admit. He felt connected with her because of the incident with the demon who killed her mother.

"Bite me!" Sam replied sharply and pulled the door shut.


	6. 2 Part 3

They drove to a nice and cosy café just down the road from Lucy's house. When they walked in, they noticed all the curious and even hostile glances from the town folk. A few women even hectically paid their bills and ushered their children out of the café. Everybody who sat next to the table the brothers walked to stood up and moved to another table.

The waitress ignored them for quite some time and even after Dean almost knocked her over she took her time to come to their table. Her look told both Sam and Dean that she wasn't too happy to have them in here. And she didn't say a thing when she stood next to them, pen and paper ready.

Dean raised an eyebrow and tried a friendly smile. It didn't work.

"Ok honey…" he addressed her and received an upset look from her. But he flashed her another delightful smile and placed the order.

Dean only had a coffee and listened to what his brother had to tell him. Sam talked and munched his banana pancakes at the same time so Dean had quite a hard time getting everything Sam said. After a while, Sam fell silent. He had handed Dean the copies of his findings and started to fully enjoy his meal. He poured more maple syrup over the pancakes until they were completely soaked. Dean eyed him apprehensively and pulled a face.

"Dude, those are banana pancakes…"

"Yeah, so what?" Sam asked back with his mouth full. He had already forked another big piece and shoved it into his mouth.

"Nothing…" Dean mumbled and looked back at the print-out. He sighed and tried to concentrate.

"What is it?" Sam asked then.

"Nothing."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I already told you, it's nothing. I'm just…tired?" The drive here had taken them longer then expected and the first thing they had done instead of getting a motel room and some sleep was dropping by Lucy's house. And even though he knew that Sam thought he had spent the few hours while Sam was in the library with some chick, he didn't feel like explaining what he was doing. Ok, he had been with some chick, but it was just to find out more about the strange incidents. Again, he tried to focus on the text on the piece of paper he held in his hands.

"Dean?" Sam said avidly after he had wiped his plate clean of the maple syrup with the last chunk of pancake.

"Hmm?" Dean was busy reading the newspaper report on the deaths of the Stevensons.

"Sorry for the bust-up earlier. I…ah well, I don't know. I'm sorry…"

Dean gave his brother a look and a frown. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I…ah, well…you know, I think I never really thanked you…"

"For what?" Dean looked up.

"For being there for me? You know, Lucy and her sister…they kind of reminded me…of how you always tried to protect me when I was little."

Dean chuckled. "Sammy, please don't get all cheesy on me here. No chick-flick moments, no hugs, ok?"

"Alright then! But are you going to tell me what you were up to during these two hours? Did you by any means find out anything? Because everything we can learn here can be of help, you know that."

"Yeah, and I actually learned something." The smile that flashed on Dean's face told Sam to better not ask what exactly this something was. Sam pulled a face, put up a hand to stop Dean from saying anything and sipped his coffee. It was not hot anymore but caffeine was something he needed badly. He felt the exhaustion now, too.

"And this is all you found out?" Dean asked after a few more minutes. He kept his voice low because the waitress was glowering at him.

"Yeah, so far! But there is this one woman, the librarian, who might now more…"

"Dude, two girls at once? You see me shocked!" Dean smiled but stopped immediately when he saw Sam's angry face. His brother seemed really upset, Dean thought. He raised both his hands and backed off. "So?"

Dean calmed down a little. "She doesn't believe that Lauren committed the murders."

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty obvious, she's not strong enough…" Dean interjected.

Sam shot him an annoyed look. "I think she put this article in a book so that the others couldn't see it."

"Which one?"

Sam shook his head. "The one about the house being torn down."

"Why would she do that?" Dean asked.

"How am I supposed to know that? I'll drop by her house later and find out…"

"Yeah, you do that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam snapped.

"Nothing!" Dean said. "Calm down, dude!"

But Sam couldn't really calm down. The fact that they hadn't found anything that might help Lucy nearly drove him mad. "I'm worried about what will happen when they really do tear down the house…"

Dean thought about it for a moment but couldn't come up with a good idea. He then raised his hand to indicate that they wanted to pay. The waitress only gave him a disgusted look but didn't come to their table. Dean tried again but nothing happened. He clenched his jaw and put the money on the table. For the blink of an eye Dean considered taking the money back but the waitress watched them closely. He didn't need more trouble. "Let's go, Sam!"

When they stood up and walked over to the door, one of the men who were sitting on the nearest table got up as well. He was quite a threatening figure and loomed above them like a menacing clown. Dean tried to squeeze past him but the man extended a hand and held him back.

"Wow, watch it!" Dean barked and pushed against the other man. Sam pulled him back.

"We were just leaving!" the brown-haired young man said.

"You should better be leaving town." the man said in a not very friendly way.

"Yeah, already heard that, smarty-pants!" Dean hissed and broke free. "And now, get out of my way, ok?"

The man stepped aside and Dean was surprised that it had worked. Sam seemed surprised, too but Dean knew that this moment wouldn't last long. He grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him out of the café.

"Those people here are really friendly…" Dean muttered under his breath. "Get in the car!"

Sam did as he was told but he was quieter as usual. The incidents with the town people really got to him. Dean started the car and drove away from the diner, along the street and stopped in front of Lauren's house.

"So, what if she really is possessed?" Dean asked quietly after he turned off the ignition. He was almost anxious about breaking the uneasy silence that hung between them like a curtain.

Sam looked at him. "Didn't Lucy mention that the priest had taken Lauren with him and that he performed an exorcism on her?

"Yeah…so she's not possessed?"

"Well, at least not in the old-fashioned way. Maybe this demon is a clever one…Or she is not the one who called up these plagues and killed all these people? She sure doesn't look like a serial killer."

"They never do, little brother, they never do!" Dean smiled sadly. He stared at the house through the windshield. Sam didn't move and so Dean decided to stay in the car as well.

„Sam?" He asked after a moment of thinking.

"Hmmm?" came the tired reply.

"Sam!"

"What?" Sam straightened up in his seat.

"Why did they call the house a haunted house?" Dean cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not the house that is haunted, right?"

Sam shot him a disgusted look. "Yeah, the house is not haunted and the girl is not possessed. I think that…" He raised one hand and brushed through his hair. "I think that they want to drive Lucy and Lauren away, out of this town…"

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"They are afraid of Lauren…but they just don't see what they've already done to her, and to Lucy." Sam's face twisted as if in pain.

"Ok, so what are we going to do then? As a first?"

"They want to tear down the house, Dean!" Sam sounded upset. "We gotta do something! I don't know! How am I supposed to know?"

Dean's eyebrow went even higher. Sam didn't even notice.


	7. 3 Part 1

Both brothers then got out of the car. There was no trace of the three strange men in front of the house but Dean noticed that the curtains of one of the windows in the top storey moved. It was probably Lucy or Lauren peering through to see what was going on outside. Then he saw that it was Lauren. He raised one hand and waved at her and Lauren waved back at him. Dean couldn't suppress a smile. He still thought about what Sam had said in that café. Lucy had done the same for Lauren as he had done for Sammy. She had tried everything she could to protect her little sister.

He turned back to Sam but he was not there anymore. Confused, he turned around and saw him already walking up the stairs towards the front door.

The door was opened from the inside and the smiling face of Lauren greeted them. Dean jogged the last few paces to join his brother.

"Didn't I tell you not to open the door unless we say so?" Dean tried to make his face look serious and stern but Lauren only grinned.

"Lauren!" That was Lucy's frightened voice coming from the kitchen.

"It's ok, it's us! Dean and Sam!" Sam shouted back and stepped in. Dean followed closely, shoving Lauren with him.

Lucy jumped across the corner, the rifle in her hand ready to shoot. Dean raised his hand as if in shock, then gave her a taunting look.

"I thought we were over this…" he joked and Lucy blushed.

"I'm sorry, guys! Old habits die hard, remember?"

"Just don't hurt anyone with this!" Sam said and walked over to her, taking the rifle from her.

"Your safety should be on all times…" Dean said in a patronizing way.

Lucy gave him the finger. "This is my safety…" She bent the finger twice. "Don't worry, I've used a gun before."

Dean opened his mouth again but Lucy raised her hand. "And I'm a good shot, too! Like I said, don't worry. It makes me crazy when you do that…" She grinned when he rolled his eyes. But even though she seemed quite relaxed, both Dean and Sam knew that she was just playing a role to make Lauren feel safe. Sam watched Dean and Lucy exchanging glances and looked away, jaw and fists clenches. He had to take in a deep breath.

"Sam, do you want some macaroni and cheese? I left some for you…" Lauren suddenly said and Lucy turned to her, her face clearly showing her happiness about the recent development of her sister. The little girl had grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen without waiting for him to even answer her question.

"Yeah right, you saved some? You didn't let me eat my share!" Lucy joked. Dean and Lucy followed them and sat down at the big wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. Lauren paced through the room to get a plate, a fork and of course, the food and placed it all in front of Sam. The brown-haired man had to smile. Lucy had sat down next to him and watched her little sister suddenly being so lively and happy.

She leaned in to Sam and whispered into his ear: "What did you do with my little sister?" When she retreated, the smile that was on her face suddenly wiped all the negative thoughts and energy away from Sam's already troubled mind.

"I didn't do anything, I promise." Sam smiled. "But if you want some…" he pushed the plate in her direction but she declined with a smile.

"No thanks, but I'm not hungry."

Sam held her gaze for a moment. She sure looked like she was hungry and it was clearly visible that she hadn't eaten properly in a long time but Sam knew the feeling. He hadn't been able to eat properly after Jess' death and after he'd been on the road with Dean. He had grown thin, too, but with Lucy, it didn't look healthy anymore.

While Sam ate, Lucy made coffee for the three of them and a smoothie for Lauren which she gladly took. She began to dance through the house and whenever she whirled past the kitchen, Sam thought he saw tears in Lucy's smiling big green eyes.

For long minutes everyone was silent. After Sam had finished eating, he exchanged a long glance with his brother and Dean understood. He had been hoping to get some of the mac'n'cheese as well. He was hungry. He was always hungry.

"Lauren!" he said with a cheerful voice. "Why don't you show me your playground? We could play a little…what about Hide and Seek?"

Lauren's face lit up like a candle in the dark. She bounced up and down like a young puppy waiting for its owner to play with it. But she waited for her older sister to give her approval.

"So, Lucy, what do you say?" Dean asked, smiling.

With a beaming face, Lucy nodded but she couldn't take her eyes off of her sister. Dean still watched her and Lauren still waited for an answer.

"Yeah, sure! You two go outside and have a good time!" Lauren bolted out of the room when she heard it. "And you watch her, ok?" she said to Dean who nodded.

"Sure thing! I'm good at…that! Watching over kids…" Dean gave a short laugh and looked over to Sam.

His brother smiled back. "Yeah, you always took good care of me."

Lucy gave him a sideway glance and frowned. The smile Sam gave his brother was genuinely sincere but she felt that there was more, something she could not possibly even begin to understand. But she kept quiet and watched Dean leave the kitchen.


	8. 3 Part 2

After a long moment of uneasy silence, Lucy finally stood up and walked towards the living room. Sam followed her and caught up with her besides the stairway. He reached out for her and grabbed her arm. Lucy spun around with a frightening look in her eyes.

Sam let go of her arm immediately. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. "But we really need to talk…"

"I know…" she said monotonously without looking at him. "But I'm tired of talking. Everybody wants to talk…and in the end they hurt us…"

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Sam sounded offended.

"Sorry, Sam…" Lucy sighed. "I didn't mean to…" she fell quiet.

Sam knew what she meant. But still, he couldn't let go of it just now. "Let's talk, ok?

Lucy nodded and moved over to the settee by the window. "Then let's talk…what do you want to talk about?" She suddenly seemed to frail and tired.

"Lucy, they want to tear down the house. It was in yesterday's newspaper." Sam began quietly.

"I know…" Her words were nearly inaudible. "I know…"

"Why…I mean…it's obvious that the people here don't want you around…Please don't get me wrong here, Lucy, ok? But why haven't you already left? Why didn't you just pack up and leave?"

Lucy suddenly smiled. "Do you think I haven't tried? It's like we can't leave this place. Lauren doesn't want to leave and after all she's been through I just cannot make her. I just can't…" she sighed. "And I don't want to…"

"I understand that…" Sam said sympathetically but Lucy just shook her head.

"No, you don't. Nobody understands. And nobody can!" She stood up and took a few hesitant steps. Sam watched her and thought he could see tears in her eyes.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I truly am. I know how it feels, I honestly do. But right now, you have to trust me. There are some weird things going on. And I want to help!"

Lucy tilted her head and sighed. "You know, this is a little too much for me…I can't…go on any longer. I'm breaking down here…" Her voice was now coming in short ragged breaths. Sam stood up and walked over to her. He put one hand on her shoulder and she turned into his embrace. Sam put both arms around her and held her for a minute, then Lucy drew away. She didn't look into his eyes when she turned around but Sam could see the blush on her face. He was sure that the blush was on his own face, too.

It had felt a little awkward to hold her so close to him but after the first moment of agitation, the feeling had turned into a very nice one. One that Sam hadn't felt in a very long time. But when Lucy withdrew, she left a cold emptiness. Sam had to take in a deep breath, then he was able to focus again.

"Do you know what I write into my diary?" Lucy suddenly said.

Sam frowned at her words. What was she talking about?

"It's the same as every day since all this started." She laughed a little "Dear Diary, I have finally discovered Earth. I don't like it here. It's strange. The people are annoying. I'm frustrated. This planet sucks." She laughed again and Sam had to work hard to suppress a chuckle. This time, her smile was real and serene.

Sam wanted to keep her in this good mood. "You really write that in your diary?"

"Yeah, sure!" she said, giggling a little. It was a wonderful sound.

"You should be careful. The FBI would love to get their hands on a fully fledged alien like you."

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone…You're the only one who knows my secret."

"My mouth is sealed. Promise!" Both laughed but then they fell silent. The seriousness of the situation had come back like a blow to the stomach. Lucy turned around and sighed. Sam closed his eyes for a moment. Things were going so wrong here, he thought, and Lucy and her sister were caught in the middle. He wanted to help them so badly that it hurt but he was not sure how to do that.

Lucy now stood by the window and watched Dean play with Lauren in the backyard. Lauren sat on the swing and stared out onto the lake while Dean tried to talk to her. Lucy sighed.

"She hasn't been out there for years…the only place she goes to is the lake…

"Lucy?" Sam asked quietly. The girl turned and looked at him. "Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded and walked over to the sofa. Sam followed her and together, they sat down.

"You know, I was wondering…Why was Lauren so dirty this morning? I mean, she doesn't just go out, leave the house and play with other children? And it hasn't been raining…"

Lucy was silent for a moment. She bit her lower lip and looked down on her hands. After a second or two, she began to speak. "You're going to think that we're crazy, but well…Lucy was out by the lake, the whole night. She does that every now and then. I've been telling her that she shouldn't go but she doesn't listen."

Sam watched her moving around a little uneasy.

"Sam, she hears voices…she pretends she hears voices that tell her to go and lie down in the mud and listen." She laughed, almost a bit hysterical. "She's not crazy…"

"I know, Lucy. Please!" He took her hand and forced her to look at him. "Did she tell you what these voices said?"

"No, I told you that she didn't speak after they let her go. But sometimes she showed me things…pictures she drew or places she has seen. I don't know…"

"Lucy, I believe you, ok? I don't think you're crazy. Can you show me the pictures? The ones Lauren drew?"

Lucy nodded and got up. Sam watched her leave the room and waited. He heard her move up the stairs and it took only a few moments until he heard her come back again. She carried a few torn pieces of paper in her hands and handed them to Sam as soon as she was close enough. It seemed to him that she tried to avoid direct contact with it.

Sam carefully took them. He looked at Lucy.

"Sorry…" she whispered. "I couldn't stand Lauren drawing these…so I…tried to…"

Sam nodded and smiled at her politely. He could understand that she wanted to tear these pictures apart. The drawings all showed the same thing, the lake and the Stevenson's house. But on each picture, the house changed. There were some pictures that showed the house all boarded up with only one window in the basement open, on some there were no windows at all, only the one that was open on the others. There was one image where Sam thought he could see three figures behind that one window.

"Can I keep those?" Sam asked.

Lucy only nodded. She still looked out of the window. "You have to promise me, too!" she said now without facing him. "Promise!"

"What?"

"I can't protect her, I couldn't when they took her away from me. I let what was given to me to protect fall from my fingers…" Her eyes sparkled as she now looked at Sam. "But you can…She trusts you…she talked to you!" Her face was pale but the green darkness of her eyes showed him that she was serious. "You have to protect her if I can't anymore, ok?" She stood only a few paces away.

Sam swayed a little. He knew that he could not offer the kind of protection to any of them, he just couldn't. But the begging look Lucy gave him nearly tore his heart apart and even though he did not want to say it, the words came out on their own. "I will…"

Once those words were out, he regretted ever saying them. He knew that he couldn't protect either Lauren or Lucy even though he wished with all his heart he could. He suddenly couldn't fight the urge to reach out for her and pull her into his embrace again. He was scared that she might try to break free but she didn't even resist.

She fell into his arms like someone drowning and clang to him as if he was the only rescue. She breathed against this shoulder and for a moment, time stood still. All that mattered was that they both were here, feeling each other even though it was not only a strange situation but also a strange time and place.


	9. 3 Part 3

From the corner of his eyes he saw a movement outside in the backyard. Dean and Lauren were coming back, chasing each other across the open area and through the trees. The garden opened directly to the lake and Lauren always stopped when they came too close and Dean always had a watchful eye on her and the lake. But nothing supernatural happened.

Sam heard them come in through the back door a few moments later, still laughing and panting, and Lucy stepped away from him. She smiled at him and for the first time since he had known her, her eyes weren't sad.

"Lucy!" It was Dean calling. "Sam? Where are you?"

"Here…in the living room!" Sam shouted back, his voice suddenly too loud in the quiet room.

"Oh hey, we had such a great time! Lauren's a cheater!" Dean joked and Lauren elbowed him in the stomach. She had put on a frown but couldn't hide the big grin on her face.

"So…" Dean began. "You two done here? Then we can come to the important part of the day…" He ignored Sam's worried look. "I bet Sam's got a lot to tell you…"

"Ok, we found out something…" Sam said, then cleared his throat. It felt kind of tied, so the coughs sounded like a strangled try to breathe. How he sometimes hated the cheerful way of his brother. "Well, I found out something."

Dean gave him an odd look which Sam ignored. Lucy and Lauren sat down on the couch, holding hands.

"And we're running out of time here. We only have a few days left, I'd say. Those are the 10 plagues…like, in the bible? You've already witnessed the fourth plague but now, the remaining 6 will happen quickly. First it's _Dam_, red rivers and the stench of dead fish, then it's _Tsfardeia_, the reptiles or frogs. The third plague is _Kinim_, lice, followed by bugs and flies, also called _Arov_. During the fourth plague, _Dever_, the livestock dies, mostly cattle and goats. You said that there were only these four?" Sam stepped over to them and sat down opposite of them.

Lucy looked at him and nodded. "Only these four…" she whispered, her voice thin but her eyes showing that she believed his words.

"The next things to come are the unhealable boils, the _Shkhin_, then storms with hail and fire or _Barad_. The _Arbeh, _the locusts and the long darkness, _Choshech_ are number 8 and 9. The last one, the _Makat Bechorot_ is death of the first borns."

Dean gave his brother a look. "You see me impressed, officially! Lots of strange words here…" he murmured.

Sam returned the glance. "Shut up, this is important. If we can't stop what's going on here, lots of people are going to die."

"What?" Dean and Lucy looked at Sam like he was a madman.

"The death of the first born? Don't you get it? It's not only the children, everybody who has a younger sister or brother will die, if these really are the 10 plagues. And right now, we have to assume it's right what it seems to be." In that moment, Sam realized that this also included Lucy. An icy shudder ran down his spine and his breathing quickened when he now looked at her and saw that she had understood, as well.

"But what makes this even worse is that this has absolutely nothing to do with the deaths. So…we've not gotten any further here…I'm sorry."

"Not further? Dude, I think we've learned a great deal here. Lauren's not responsible for the plagues…" Dean said with a grin but Sam's look made him regret it immediately. "Sorry...Listen, I guess we all know that Lauren didn't do anything…right? So…"

"So what?" Sam snapped.

"So we need to do more research…" Dean frowned at his little brother. "Didn't you want to see that librarian again? What was her name again? Lindsay?"

Sam coughed and glanced at Lucy but she didn't show any reaction. "Yeah…"

"Then we better get to it?" Dean asked but it didn't really sound like a question. He stood up and motioned for Sam to follow him. "We'll be back, Lucy. Just stay put. And you know, lock…"

"Lock the doors and let nobody in…I know…" Lucy whispered.

"Good girl." Then Dean turned to Lauren. "And you watch over your big sister, alright?"

Lauren nodded with a smile on her face. Dean was amazed at how strong she was, how brave and how mature despite her age. He remembered their childhood, Sam's and his own, and how he had always tried hard to give Sam a childhood he himself never had. But it was nearly impossible with the circumstances they had to grow up with.

When he walked past Lucy, he softly put one hand onto her shoulder and nodded. Lucy nodded back, thanking him for the kind gesture. Sam followed his brother and stopped in front of Lucy when she suddenly took his hand. For a moment which felt like an eternity, she held his hand and looked into his eyes. Sam smiled at her and squeezed her hand a little, then he moved on towards his brother who was already at the door. He looked back once more but Lucy just sat there, hands covering her face.

The fresh air felt good, Sam thought. He breathed in and out and in and out until the cool afternoon chill cleared his head. Dean pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Dude, what was this all about? All the old-school talking?"

"Well, I once read about the plagues…back in school."

"Yeah right…you tried to impress her!" Dean said smiling.

"What?" Sam snapped at him. "Cut it out, will you? I'm trying to help. And I read something about that in the library."

"That's why it took you so long…"

"What? It was you who didn't show up! I had to wait for you!"

"Calm down, dude!" Dean said with both hands held in front of his chest in a defensive gesture.

"What's it to you anyway?" Sam snapped.

"Just try to relax…"

"Just try to shut up, ok?"

"What's wrong with you, Sammy?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I just want to help…our own family's so screwed, so why not help some others? Makes things a little more bearable. Dad raised us to be soldiers. He taught us about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and the back roads of that country and he taught us how to kill it. This is a job, Dean, and I want to get this over with…" Bloody lakes, dead animals, was this really the curse of God? He didn't believe in God because God would never let anything like what he fought every day happen to his people. And if it really came down to the worst, the death of the first-borns, would they even be able to stop that? He looked at Dean. "You better stay here, just in case. I'll go and visit Lindsay again, maybe she's home and may I'll find out something that is of actual help here. Right now, it feels as if we haven't even scratched the surface of what's going on here yet…"

"Then we need to find out more. Come on, Sammy! We've only been here for one day. You'll go to that library chick and I'll find us a nice and cosy motel."

"Dean, I think you should stay here…"

"Yeah, sure. I'll come back as soon as I find us a room." Dean grinned but Sam couldn't even manage a smile. "Or maybe I can call a motel from Lucy's place, ok? Book a room…and then sit tight until you return?"

Sam nodded. "Good…I'll be back soon. Take care…" he fell quiet. He waited for Dean to go back to the house and knock the door. This time Lauren didn't open the door.

"Dude!" Sam shouted. "The keys!"

He almost heard Dean growl. Tentatively, Dean took his time to fumble the keys out of the pocket of his leather jacket.

It was Lucy now who let Dean in. When she closed the door, she waved one hand at Sam and he waved back.


	10. 4 Part 1

**I****V.**

He didn't need to be an expert to find Lindsay's house. He had browsed through the telephone book in a phone booth at the nearest corner from Lucy's place. This town was so small, there was only one Lindsay Connors mentioned in the book. Her apartment was on the other side of the town. He parked the Impala opposite of her house. He didn't get out right away but watched her front door and the windows pointing towards the street. She didn't seem to be home. Was she home already? It was only 3.30 pm. A normal person with a regular job would still be at work at that time.

He kept sitting in the car and waited. And he had been right. 30 minutes later, Lindsay walked down the street towards her house. Sam waited another 10 minutes after she had disappeared inside, then he got out of the car, slammed the door shut, locked it and walked across the street.

Sam knocked on the door. It took a few moments until it opened a little, the chain still in place.

"Yes? Who is this?" came a female voice from the inside.

"Hey…Lindsay? Remember me? It's Sam. I was in the library earlier today."

Sam saw a shadow move in the space between frame and door.

"Oh, yes! Sam!" The chain was unlocked and the door opened. Lindsay smiled at him. "How nice of you to drop by!"

Sam smiled as well. Did he hear sarcasm in her voice? Her smile didn't give it away but he was sure that she was hiding something from him, even now.

"Come on in! Would you like a coffee?" Lindsay nearly pulled him in and closed the door behind him. She kept walking until they reached the living room. Lindsay offered him a seat and then sat down next to him. "Why did you come?" Suddenly there was no smile on her face anymore.

"I need some answers!" Sam said bluntly.

Lindsay's mouth twisted. "Honestly, I knew you'd come. You were so curious about the Hawking's and the Stevenson's, I knew you wouldn't give up easily."

Sam smiled sheepishly.

"But it's probably not good for you to know all these things. You know, the people here are nice and friendly as long as you stay out of things that are not your business. I had to learn that myself."

"What does that mean, Lindsay?"

She was quiet for a moment. But then she smiled at him. "Listen, don't take this the wrong way but I really like you. You seem like a nice boy."

'Boy?' Sam frowned a little. Lindsay didn't seem to be much older than he was himself. But he kept quiet and smiled at her.

"Oh, I forgot the coffee…" Lindsay excused herself and got back up. She quickly left the room and Sam noticed that she didn't go into the kitchen but went back to the door.

Sam got up as well and followed her silently. He spotted her by the window, peering out.

"Is everything alright?" he asked in a low voice.

Lindsay jumped. She turned around with both hands across her chest. "God, you startled me!"

"What is going on here?" He tried to cast a glance through the window which was partially blocked by Lindsay.

"Nothing!" Lindsay said quickly and approached him. Sam still looked out of the window and thought he saw the three men that he had also seen in front of Lucy's house. He looked at Lindsay questioningly.

"It's nothing. Come with me! I'll make you some coffee." The young woman said and turned to go into the kitchen. Sam followed her quietly.

When he saw her take the kettle and pour water into it, he spoke up. "Listen, are you afraid of these men?"

Lindsay flashed him a smile and shook her head. "No, no! No!" she said laughing. "No! I've never seen them before."

Now Sam was definitely sure that Lindsay was hiding something.

"Why don't you go back to the living room and relax. I'll be with you in just a moment." She smiled again.

Carefully, always listening to what was happening in the kitchen, Sam returned to the living room and sat down. But all he heard was Lindsay placing the water kettle on the pad and getting cups from a cupboard. He heard her put them down and open the coffee box. Then he heard a click, indicating that the water had boiled. Lindsay poured the water into the cups and then returned to the living room, a cup in each hand.

She put one cup down in front of him and sighed. When Sam wanted to say something, she quickly put one finger to her lips.

"Shhh…" she whispered. "If you want to talk about Lauren, then you'd better be quiet."

Sam looked around and then back at Lindsay. He frowned but she seemed to mean what she said.

"What is going on here?"

"Like I said, it's not good to get involved. I don't know much but I'll share it with you as long as you promise me that you try to protect the child…"

Sam watched Lindsay's face turn pale and he nodded.

She sighed and tried a lopsided smile. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

And she told him everything she knew. It wasn't much but it helped to explain a lot of things to Sam.

With a shy smile, Lindsay took her purse out of her pocket and handed him a neatly folded piece of paper, a newspaper report. The page was dirty and the edges were torn, but it was still readable. Sam watched Lindsay sit down opposite of him.

'Local police's sergeant Graham Adams who investigated on the murders of the Stevenson family and the disappearance of the four children found dead by the lake.' the caption said.

"What is that?" Sam asked.

"Just read it…maybe you'll understand then…" Lindsay fell quiet. Sam gave her a worried look but read through the whole article. This policeman, Graham Adams, had investigated the murders and couldn't find anything that indicated that Lauren Hawking had anything to do with these murders. He had found traces of footsteps the size of a grown man, and had also mentioned that in his official report. But after his sudden and violent death, the people in Richmond believed that it was the doing of the possessed child. His report was made confidential and his death was added to the murders of the Stevenson's. This definitely peaked Sam's interest. Why would a police report be made confidential when it showed that there was no evidence of Lauren committing the murders? The evidence he had found, the footsteps and a few other things which were mentioned only shortly, still did not help him piece this all together. He still couldn't see the bigger picture.

"Why would you keep something like that?" Sam asked then but Lindsay didn't answer. "Please, I need to know!"

"I have not lived all my life here in Richmond. I moved here a year or two after the Stevenson's were killed. The people here are strange, Sam. Nice but strange. I've never understood why they were blaming everything that happened on the child but it is better not to ask questions around here. So I didn't but I found this newspaper article and kept it. I never believed that Lauren did it…" Lindsay explained. "Why would she?" she asked naively.

"Who lives in the Stevenson's house now?" Sam quickly changed the subject.

Lindsay thought for a moment. "The funny thing is that Dr. Stevenson had sold the house the day before he and his family was murdered. Three men moved in there then, brothers as far as I know…but well, I don't know for sure."

"Three men?" Sam dimly remembered the men outside of Lucy's house, the ones he had also seen outside Lindsay's house.

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, but I've never seen them. I just wondered about the fact that they bought it even before anyone knew it was being sold. But like always, no one talked about it, so I didn't think about it. I guess that I've grown accustomed to their way."

Sam was quiet for a moment. He considered everything Lindsay had said but it still didn't make much sense. His head began to hurt. Sam reached out for the cup of caffeine and drank a bit. It didn't make him feel better, though.

"Lindsay, why does everybody think that Lauren's possessed? I mean, there was nothing about that in any of the books or newspapers. What I don't get here is why everyone blamed it on her? The murders, the strange incidents…the murders of the Stevenson family were committed even before she was born." Sam scratched his forehead.

The young woman looked down. "You know, the people here are very religious and superstitious. They believe in things…They believe that Lauren's guilty."

"No, they want to believe that she's guilty!" Sam snapped but immediately regretted his words. "Sorry…"

"I understand…but there's nothing I can do about it."

Sam nodded and smiled politely. "I better get going…it's late already."

"Are you going back to the Hawking's place?"

"Ah…I don't know…" Sam tried to avoid her questions because it started to feel really strange. He stood up. "Can I keep that?" he asked and waved the newspaper report.


	11. 4 Part 2

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Lindsay jumped up and ran past Sam towards the door. Her face was twisted in horror. She tried to push Sam out of the way but he got a hold of her arm and forced her to look at him. "What is going on here?"

"Go, please, go now! You have to get out of here!" she cried and pounded her fists against his chest. Sam let go of her.

That someone outside knocked the door again.

Sam looked at Lindsay inquiringly but she only shook her head while she reached for the door handle.

"What is wrong with you? Get out of my house! Now! Or I'll call the cops!" Lindsay suddenly yelled, yanked the door open and pushed Sam outside. She seemed to be really upset. Sam tried to shush her, but it was of no use. When he turned, he saw the older woman from the library outside on the front porch. The look this woman gave him made Sam feel very uncomfortable.

"Ok, ok…" he played along. "Sorry…I thought you wanted to go out with me…" It was the best he could come up with in that moment but it was all he needed. He pushed past the woman outside and hurried to get out of sight. He didn't look back once. Sam jumped in the car and rushed away.

What had just happened? Lindsay had been scared, but what was the cause? The woman? The three men? But still, she had been willing to help him, even though she had gotten herself in harms way. Was it just an act? Sam was not sure what to make of it all. Lindsay had seemed to be so honest about what she told him about Lauren and what had been happening here in Richmond. Then why did she freak out like that when the weird woman showed up? What was she doing here, anyway? Sam felt as if the whole town had had turned against Lauren and Lucy.

When Sam returned to the house, he saw Dean standing on the porch, obviously looking for him.

"Dude…what took you so long?" His older brother said when Sam was close enough.

"Searching for answers?" Sam replied without much enthusiasm.

"And did you find out anything new? Like what underwear she wears?"

Sam shot him a disgusted look.

"Sorry…what's wrong? You look…horrible!" When Sam didn't reply immediately, Dean repeated his question. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"WHAT!" Sam shouted and Dean backed away.

"God, calm it! What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing…" Sam whispered. "This place is getting to me. The people are strange."

"Yeah, sometimes they are…this has never bothered you before? Ah, I'm getting it…you're worried about Lucy, right?" Dean chuckled a little.

Sam shook his head. "Of course I worry. Don't you?"

Dean smiled at his younger brother. "Sure, but not like that. You got a funny way of showing your affection for that girl. The way you're lurking around her…I'm taking it you like her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Am I speaking in a language you're not getting here?"

"Dean, shut about it!" Sam's twisted face clearly displayed his apprehension. "Just let it go, ok?"

Dean raised an eyebrow but kept his mouth shut. He knew that when his brother was in that agitated mood, arguing was useless. Sam was a stubborn son of a bitch and whatever was with him, he wouldn't just snap out of it within the next couple of seconds.

"Can we go inside now?" Sam asked carefully. He knew that his mood wasn't doing anything to help the situation right now but he couldn't help it.

Dean bit back a reply and opened the front door with a wide gesture of his hand. Sam ignored his brother and stepped in, searching for Lucy. She was nowhere to be seen.

His throat was dry. Sam swallowed but it didn't help. He went to the kitchen, took a glass from the board, filled it with water and drank it, but still, it didn't help. His head began to spin and the world around him faded into darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head but the dizziness did not go away. It was one of these strange headaches he had been having often lately. Visions, accompanied by strong headaches. These visions that he had been having for quite some time now were bugging him every now and then and every time he had them, something really bad was going to happen. He put the glass down and with both hands on the sink's rim, he tried to keep his balance but it didn't work. His knees gave way and he sank to the tiled floor, knocking down the glass from the sink. The sound of breaking glass made both Lauren and Dean run into the kitchen from the living room. Dean jumped over to his brother and steadied him.

"Are you alright, dude?"

Sam didn't answer. He was trembling uncontrollably, and he didn't hear anything of what was going on around him. He threw his head back and coughed for air. His pupils were dilated. He didn't see neither Dean nor Lucy down with him on the floor, shaking him carefully. All he saw was a blurred image of the backyard of the Hawking's house, the lake and a figure running around, into the water. This…person, figure, thing almost seemed to be floating across the lake and towards an old house on the other side of the lake. Through one of the windows the light of a candle shone a strange mixture of light and shadow onto the porch. The headache increased and his vision blurred even more but before it all blurred into nothingness, he could make out Lucy and Lauren quite clearly, both on the ground…dead. Sam had to cough and felt like suffocating, as if invisible hands were choking him. The figure had now reached the house and somehow got inside. The next thing Sam could see were 4 children lined up against the wall. Another child, taller than the others, stood in the middle of the small and otherwise empty room, surrounded by shadow until flames leaked up from the floor, devouring the children on the wall.

Dean saw that Lauren had stepped backwards into the far corner of the kitchen when Sam collapsed and pressed herself against the wall. She had raised both hands to cover her ears even though there was no screaming. He watched her carefully and noticed that she flinched at the same time Sam did. It was strange to see them both go through probably the same experience simultaneously. At least he got the impression that they went through the same experience because they had the same look in their eyes.

His brother flinched under his touch and Dean let go. Sam coughed and squeezed his eyes shut. The pain in his head was nearly unbearable but the images he saw got clearer and clearer with the increasing pain but somehow he lost the red thread throughout this vision. Suddenly it was all mixed up, images from his own past mingled with something that felt like someone else's past. He saw Lauren and Lucy, fire and the yellow eyed demon, Dean and his father but it was all out of proportion. The memories mixed with the images from his vision until he was finally able to suppress them and focus again on what he had seen before this interruption.


	12. 4 Part 3

The flames now leaked up high and consumed the whole room. He could feel the four children screaming, seeing them with their backs against the scorching wall. He could smell the devastating smell of burning flesh as it sizzled away from the bones.

And suddenly he heard himself utter the words of the rite of exorcism in Italian. The words came to his mind so easily that he wondered how he could have learned them so fast. Until now, he had only used this prayer once and he was sure that he would not have been able to remember these words. Now that they came out it felt natural to use them. Although he did not know exactly what he said, the words made complete sense.

Dean's eyes widened when he heard what his brother murmured under his breath. "What are you talking about, Sam?" Of course he knew that Sam couldn't hear him. It was not the first time that Sam had these visions but it was the first time that he was so deep in this trance.

Sam now stumbled backwards and fell flat on his back, hitting the ground hard with his head.

"Sam!" It was Lucy's voice that barely came through, but he heard it. "Sam! Come back!" There it was again, this sweet and strong voice that almost shone like a light in his darkness. With what felt like a struggle, Sam pried his eyes open and tried to look around but Lucy was not there. How could he have heard her voice? The place he was in also didn't look like the Hawking's kitchen. He suddenly felt the flames as if they ate their way through his own flesh but there was no pain. And then there was water, too much water that buried him.

He choked again and opened his eyes, blinded by the sunlight that fell in through the window. His hands groped around to find something to hold on to and found a pair of other hands, small, warm, securing him.

His eyes were watery and his nose was dripping and when he wiped his face, he realized it was blood. "God, this was intense…" he said hoarsely and coughed.

Lucy offered him a kitchen towel to stop the bleeding which Sam took with shaking hands. He knelt on the tiled floor, his head still spinning, his throat dry, his hands wet. He tried to clamber to is knees but he couldn't do without is brother's help.

"What did you see?" Dean inquired while holding his brother in his arms. Sam was still weak and a little drowsy.

Lucy pushed Dean aside. "What? What is going on here? What is this supposed to mean?"

Sam held up his hand to stop her from asking too many questions right now because he felt really dizzy and couldn't get together one sense-making thought. Lucy understood the gesture but couldn't hold back.

"No!" she snapped. "Not this time. You're going to tell me what is going in here…" Dean pulled her back but Lucy struggled free. He didn't try again. Instead he got up and filled another glass with water which he brought to his brother. Sam took it gladly and drowned it with one long sip.

"God…" he groaned and put both hands to his head. When Dean approached him, Sam held up one hand. "I need a minute, ok?"

Dean only nodded and walked out of the kitchen, followed by Lauren who seemed to have recovered. Lucy stayed and watched Sam squirm on the kitchen floor.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lucy suddenly said into the silence. Sam had finally recovered from the headache but he still couldn't piece together all the bits of information he had seen in his vision. He nodded but he felt that what she was about to ask would be difficult to explain. Dean nodded as well.

"Why are you doing this?"

"This…what?" Sam asked back.

"This all. Helping us and such things. I know that there is something weird going on but you seem to know so much more about this than you say you do. What is going on here?"

Sam cleared his throat. This was not going to be easy but he knew that she would ask, eventually. He had just hoped that this eventual point in time would not have come so soon. He decided not to let her in smoothly. It wouldn't work on her, he thought.

"We hunt supernatural phenomena."

"Supernatural phenomena? What, are you magicians or what? Fight angels and demons?"

"Well, not angels, but yes, demons, ghosts, monsters…" Sam's voice was nearly inaudible.

"Excuse me?" Lucy sounded exasperated. "You do what? I think I just heard you say you fight ghosts and monsters but I must have misunderstood." The look in her eyes showed Sam clearly that she was hurt. He remembered Dean telling him about him telling Cassie, his first real girlfriend and he also remembered that Dean described the look in Cassie's eyes. It was the same look Sam now saw in Lucy's eyes and it nearly broke his heart. He had never told anyone about their 'job' but he had imagined it to be hard to let anyone in on their secret.

"No, you didn't misunderstand. It's the truth. And that's why we're here. We think that there is something supernatural going on here." He slowly got up.

"What?" Lucy shouted. "Supernatural? All that's been going on here has been done by men, human beings, alright? Not by ghosts and demons! You understand? This is not a movie! This is about real people, not some weirdo ghosts. Real people like Lauren. And they hurt her! As will you. You're not so different to them." She was really upset now.

"Lucy, please! Calm down." Sam said with a low voice. "We're just trying to help." He looked at her but she turned away. Her face was flushed with anger and regret at the same time.

From what Dean could observe from his seat on the sofa, Lucy had gone back to her hostile behavior with which she confronted him the first time they had met. He could understand her, at least to some extend.

"Yeah right!" By the time the words were out, Lucy regretted saying them in such a harsh tone. She tilted her head. From the corner of her eyes she saw Sam leaning against the counter, one hand at his head, one held in front of him as if to ward her off.

Lucy could see that Sam was not feeling well. It was obvious. But instead of helping him she had offended him.

"I am not going to hurt Lauren and I'm not going to hurt you. But sometimes things happen that I can't change. I am what I am. I can't change that either." His voice trailed off until Lucy had to strain her hearing to understand his last words. "But I'll try to let nothing happen to you…"

She pretended to not having heard them. She didn't deem it good to simply let things slip away from her, so she – mentally - took a defensive position.

Sam moved across the kitchen slowly. Lucy followed him and when both reached the living room where Dean and Lauren were sitting on the couch beside the big window, she began to speak again.

"And by the way…what's with the name? Winchester? Like the rifle? Listen, guys, I'm not stupid." She gave Dean a weird glance. "Is it just a coincidence or did you choose the name because of the mystery that is around it? I mean…you make a big mystery about yourselves…Any chance you're related to Sarah Pardee Winchester? In case you are, I heard that insanity is genetically transferable to other members of the family. Maybe you're just crazy?" She laughed. "From what I learned about that mystery, the Winchester House began with a curse, was built under the guidance of spirits and has the creepiest architecture of any American home. Sounds freaky, eh?" Her voice had changed from worried and sad to an aggressive undertone.

Sam couldn't suppress a cough. "Well, as far as we know, we're not related to that woman.

"And by the way, that house was never haunted." Dean added. Sam turned at the sound of his voice. Sweat formed on his forehead. Not the legendary Winchester house had been haunted, their own home was. What a perfect association with the Winchester house. He had never thought about it but now that Lucy brought it up, he needed a few seconds for his mind to wrap around this revelation.


	13. 5 Part 1

Sam wiped away the sweat. This day until now had been one of the hardest he had ever had in his life. The vision had left him rattled and worried but the look on Lucy's face had made it worse. She seemed so lost and frightened that he could understand why she was so upset. What had happened here – what was still happening here, was more than out of the ordinary and more than what a human being could possibly take. Still, Sam wondered why Lauren seemed so unperturbed about what went on. Maybe it was because she was only a child. Children were able to deal with certain things better than adults but still, he felt eternally sorry for what had happened to her. To both.

Lucy remained standing next to the window, looking at her younger sister who had begun to draw with crayons on the table. Lucy didn't say anything. She was tired.

Sam glanced at his older brother and Dean looked back at him. Dean knew what the other one was thinking, he knew it very well. Sam had seen either Lauren or Lucy in his vision. So it was even worse than Dean had thought in the beginning. Lucy or Lauren were involved in this, by accident or as the initiators of all of this. He couldn't possibly know for sure. When he now gave his brother another – questioning this time – look, Sam's reply was a sad one. Dean's best guess now was that the girls didn't start all this. Sam's reaction would have been a different one.

"So…Lucy…what do you do for a living?" Dean asked to keep at least some kind of conversation going. He knew that he needed her in a good mood. She was cooperative but he felt that Lucy was slipping away from them.

The young woman looked at him with her jaw set in a tight line. "Ah…well…right now? Nothing, at least not now, not anymore. I studied English and American literature at UCLA until 3 years ago and then moved back home." She said quietly and without much interest.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me…" Dean said and leant back. "Literature?"

"Yeah…you think something wrong with that?" Lucy retorted.

"Nah, nah…just checking back…" Dean said smiling. "Literature…like with books and stuff like that? Shakespeare and what-was-his-name-again?"

Lucy tried to make a funny face but after a second she couldn't keep in the smile. "I take it you have no clue what you're talking about…"

Sam didn't say anything. He was tired and didn't feel like complaining about his brothers' non-existent sense of anything.

Lucy smiled her sad smile again. "I really enjoyed studying. It was something…new. But then these things happened and Lauren called me almost on a daily basis. So I came back home…after I finished. My parents made me stay in LA and finish. So I left the day before the big party. Got the papers and left. Lucy needed me." She smiled a lopsided smile which wasn't very convincing. "I should have been home earlier. Maybe I could have stopped it."

Now Sam cleared his throat. "You couldn't have done anything to prevent this. Supernatural things happen without further notice and usually, the demons don't care which people get involved. And people who don't understand sometimes do things that are wrong. You couldn't have done anything, Lucy. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about."

Lucy focussed on him. Sam sat on the windowsill beside her and bit his lower lip. He didn't look her in the eyes, his gaze was turned downwards. His black hair hung in front of his eyes and for a moment, Lucy got the impression of a young boy who had lost everything. Suddenly she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She put both hands to her face to hide the tears but everyone in the room saw them. Lauren remained seated but her face clearly displayed her worry. She must have seen her sister cry often lately, Dean thought.

Lucy's knees gave way and she sank down to the ground. "It's ok, pumpkin head. Keep drawing." She said through her hands. Lauren nodded silently, but brushed together her crayons and left the room with the papers and the crayons in her hand. Dean watched her walk up the stairs and then close the door to her room behind her.

Lucy didn't seem to notice. She kept staring into her hands, trying hard to hold back the tears.

Dean worked hard not to stare at her when he noticed the newspaper on the table. The big headline was a report on the four people that got injured in the Hawkings' backyard. All of them had been comatose for the past weeks but now, one them woke up and that man claimed that he had seen Lauren before these horrible things happened to him.

'Never believe these reporters…' he thought to himself but he had to suppress a sigh. Things were looking bad right now, really bad. If the police – and they were likely to – believed this men, they would come and take both Lucy and Lauren with them, lock them up and maybe sentence the child to death for having murdered her parents and attacked these four men.

"Sam?" Dean now whispered and stood up. He moved away from the couch and walked out of the living room. Sam got up as well and followed quietly.

"Can you please tell me what was going on there in the kitchen? What did you see? Guess it's time to let me know, don't you think?"

Sam tilted his head and bit his lower lip. After a moment he raised his head and looked his brother in the eye. "I saw them burn…"

Dean's eyes widened. "What? Who?" For a moment, he had to fight the urge to turn around and check that Lauren and Lucy were not on fire.

"I'm not sure. There were 4 children, and someone else…Lauren or Lucy…I felt them but I can't say for sure." Sam's voice came only as a whisper.

"Burn? What do you mean by…burn?" Dean's eyes widened. "You mean like…really burn?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "I felt the heat…and I smelled the burnt flesh."

Dean breathed in and out. "So, how much time do we have?"

"I'm not sure…not much, I guess." He sighed. "All I can say is that something really bad is about to happen here…" Looking back into the living room, his heart missed a few beats when he saw Lucy crouched against the wall, head held in her hands, sobbing. All the strength she had been showing before seemed to have drained out of her body.

"All I know is that we have to do something…soon!"

"I know. And we'll find a way. We always did."

Sam looked at his older brother and found a reassuring smile in his eyes.

"As soon as the police station closes up, we'll go and have a look."

"Did you…"

"Yes, I think I found a clue…" Dean didn't let Sam finish. He knew that he would only start to ask questions and right now it was not the right time for that.

When they returned, Sam moved over to Lucy and sat down in front of her.

"Lucy, I know it's hard but I need you to be honest with me, ok?" Sam took both of her hands into his and looked into her eyes. "You know, when your mother died, do you remember anything else? I mean…" He had to pause for a moment. "I mean, did you know that your parents had another baby?"

Lucy face twisted. "What?"

Dean rolled his eyes but he knew that restraining words would not work now.

"A 6 months old baby?" Sam repeated, his voice maybe a little too harsh. "Please, Lucy. Look, I'm sorry. It's just, from what you've described, there must have been a baby." He looked down. "I was 6 months old when the demon killed my mother…"

"Sam…I didn't know…but why do you keep talking about a demon? Lauren's not possessed…" She began to cry.

"No, Lucy, it's not Lauren. We think it's a demon…well…at least one."

"What?" She backed away a little but Sam held on to her hands. She tried to struggle but Sam held her back. "A demon? What are you talking about?" There was a fearful edge to her voice.

"Please, listen to me. From what we have learned so far, this demon only kills to get a 6 months old ba…" Suddenly, Sam stopped. He turned all pale. The air suddenly seemed to thicken around him and he found it hard to breathe. Jessica was killed by the same demon that killed his mother and that probably killed Lucy's and Lauren's mother. But Jessica didn't have a 6 months year old child. Now he remembered what the demon had said the day they had faced him. He had said that he had to kill Mary and Jessica because they had gotten in the way. Sam hadn't understood then, but right in this moment, the other thing the demon had said – that he was collecting special children like Sam – made complete sense. So either Lauren or Lucy were special. It took a while for his mind to wrap around this revelation and soon he noticed that he had let go of Lucy's hand. He saw her frightened face when she stared at him.


	14. 5 Part 2

"Sam, there was no baby…" Lucy whispered.

For a moment, Sam was quiet. "I know…" He said then and looked at Dean. His brother was also shocked.

"Sam, what are you saying?" Dean approached him carefully. "What does that mean?"

"Dean, it all makes sense now. It's not about the age of the babies. It's when they develop their abilities…The age doesn't matter. It was just a coincidence."

Dean bent over to his brother. "What are you talking about? Your abilities didn't start until a few months ago…" He shook his head.

"Abilities?" Lucy interfered.

"The headaches…the visions…you know…" Dean tried to explain without looking at her. but Lucy only waved her hand dismissively. She wasn't interested in the explanations, Dean supposed.

"It's not important now, Lucy…" Sam whispered. "Just take it as a fact, we'll talk about that later, ok?" Sam still held Lucy's hands tightly in his. "Something else is happening here, something that does not go away with logical explanations. This is bigger than you, than all of us. But we'll fight, ok?" He stood up and briskly walked out of the room.

"Sam?" Dean shouted but his younger brother did not turn. "Sam!"

Finally, he caught up with him. "What is going on here? You know something, right?"

"They all got in the way, even though I don't know why or how Lucy's parents got in the way. Is it because of me?"

Dean shot him a look. "Dude, no! What are you talking about?" He reached out and put his hand on his brother's arm. "Nothing that happened was because of you. It happened because some son of a bitch wanted to play around a bit and had this ridiculous idea of assembling an army of gifted kids." He paused for a moment. "It didn't happen because of you!"

"It's not that, Dean! This time it's not about the yellow-eyed demon. Something else is going on and we have absolutely no idea what it is.

Dean opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh no!" he cried out and jumped down the three steps onto the lawn. Sam followed him until he had reached the door and looked out. Now he saw why Dean was so upset. Someone had thrown a stone onto the windshield and now thousands of little pieces of glass lay shattered around and inside the car.

"What the fuck! Who can do a thing like that?"

"Calm down, Dean, it's only a windshield…" Sam said when Lauren pushed past him.

"Yeah, it was my windshield…" Dean sobbed. But it was only show, Sam noticed.

Lauren walked up to Dean and looked at the broken windshield. She sighed. "People sometimes do that…" she whispered.

"Yeah, people sometimes do that…but isn't she still a beauty?" Dean said with a sly smile.

Lauren cleared her throat as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

"You know, American cars are so the best. Can't understand how people prefer Japanese or European cars… I just love this trusty old Chevy…" Dean said.

Lauren looked at him skeptically. "More like, rusty old Chevy?"

"Hey! Cut it, will you?" Dean snapped. He really loved his car. His father had given him the car and he still remembered that he had been so proud that day. "So what do you drive?" He asked and giggled. "Oh sorry, I forgot, you are too young to drive."

Lauren sneered. "My sister drives a Ford Pinto!"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "A Ford Pinto?" Lauren pointed across the street. There parked a rusty old red Ford, obviously held together by the ropes that were tied around it.

"What a piece of cr…" He said and bit his tongue. "Nice car!" He added and smiled at Lauren. "Guess it's a thrill to drive that."

"Yeah, especially in South America!" Lauren said laughing and turned around to see Lucy and Sam approach them.

"I'd reckon that I could drive this piece of junk through any country when I have my Triple A card with me…" Dean stated.

"Well, then you better not drive through South America. The guys down there don't like this car…You know what Pinto means in their language? Tiny Wiener…"

Dean's face flushed red and he spun around just to crash into his brother.

"Dude!" Sam laughed. He, of course, had heard what Lauren had said.

"Ok, then I wouldn't want to be caught dead driving this piece of crap anywhere, period!" Dean snapped.

"I need to get this fixed…" Dean said, his face still red. Turning to Lauren again, he tried to smile. "Honey, do you know if there's a mechanic around here somewhere?"

"Sure…but they won't help you…" Lauren replied quietly.

Dean clenched his jaws. "Right…didn't think about that." For a moment he was quiet as well. "What about the next town?"

Lauren nodded slowly.

"Ok..let's go!" Dean declared and pulled the keys out of his pocket. He juggled them around for a second or two, then he jammed them into the lock. "Sam, you coming?"

Sam shook his head. "Nah, I guess I'll just stay here…" he said and cocked his head.

"Sure…" Dean smiled. "Save me some dinner, ok?"

"Will do…" Sam smiled back and sighed. Right now he felt so lost that it was hard to watch his brother get into the car and drive away. Now, right now, he needed his older brother more than ever.

Lauren came up next to him. She stood silent for a moment, then she took his hand. "Dean is like Lucy…always watching over the puppies."

Sam turned to look at her. "Yeah, I guess he is." He said, letting out a sigh. "Come on, let's go inside. Don't want you sister worrying about you." Sam tried a smile but Lauren saw right through him.

"It's ok, you know." She said.

Sam looked at her. This poor little thing had gone through so much already, probably as much as he himself had, chasing ghosts and demons all his life, but still, she seemed so strong, so unbelievably strong.

"Lauren?" Lucy sounded worried but not upset, yet Sam looked at her with an apologetic smile. "Come on inside and get cleaned up, ok?"

Lauren nodded and jumped away, leaving Sam standing in the middle of the road all by himself.

He was still looking at Lucy who looked straight back at him, biting her lower lip. Then she waved at him. "Come…" she said and stepped back. Sam hesitated a moment but Lucy waited patiently until the young man began to move towards her. Sam felt his legs move unconsciously and suddenly, he could almost smell her warmth. It felt awkward to approach her so directly, Sam thought, but even more awkward to walk past her. To be so close to her reminded him of the short moment of intimacy they had shared earlier that day.

Lucy didn't look at him but waited until Sam was inside. Then she closed the door. Lauren was nowhere to be seen, so Sam went into the living room and stopped near the window to look out. He fixed his gaze onto the spot where Dean's car was parked only a few minutes ago.

Lost in thoughts as he was, he didn't hear Lucy walk up to him and position herself beside him. She didn't say anything but Sam suddenly noticed that she was there.

Sam did not turn his head. "Sorry…"

"For what?" Lucy said quietly, almost as a whisper.

"I didn't mean to take on you like that earlier. I was…"

"…not making any sense." Lucy laughed. "It's ok, you know. You just wanted to help.."

Sam was quiet for a moment, then he turned and looked at her. "I think that what I do…that it hurts other people."

"But you help! You're helping Lauren…you're helping me…" Lucy said with a low voice.

The young man smiled lopsided but didn't say anything. He gazed into Lucy's eyes and had to fight to suppress a sigh. There was an urging feeling inside him to raise one hand and touch her face but he fought that one down as well.

Suddenly, Lucy turned away. Sam watched her as she walked out of the living room into the kitchen, then he heard Lauren bounding down the stairs again.

Lucy was right, he was not making any sense anymore. Nothing he did was making sense, nothing he said was making sense. He was not making sense anymore. For a moment he closed his eyes and tried to free his mind from all these useless thoughts that chased each other without making any sense, then he breathed in and followed Lucy into the kitchen.


	15. 5 Part 3

:(occ: i've just noticed that my character lauren has some resemblance to the character of lauren from the movie "the reaping", which was just shown here on pay-tv. honestly, i have not seen that movie when i started to write the story! sorry!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sam?" Lucy looked at him. "Sam!"

He must have been dreaming for a second, he thought. He did not remember entering the kitchen and moving towards the table in the middle of the room. But now he was there and Lucy was right in front of him.

"Sam? Can you help me?"

Sam shook his head as if to lose the numbness, then he smiled apologetically.

"I can't reach up there…" Lucy said and pointed at the high cupboard behind her. Sam nodded and moved over, then he let Lucy step past and point out the casserole she needed. He didn't dare to ask what she needed it for because he knew that he had scared her again with his weird behaviour just now.

When he handed her the casserole, he avoided eye-contact with her and Lucy stepped away as quickly as she had approached him to take it from his hands. Then she walked over to the fridge, nearly disappeared in it and rummaged around in the depths of the coldness until she appeared again with her arm full with food. Sam made out something that came close to a lamb chop, a net of green beans and a handful of red chillies. He reached out to lend her a helping hand but she walked right past him without noticing the offer. Sam tilted his head and kept standing right he was.

"Do you know the story where the woman kills her husband with a lamb chop and then eats it together with the policeman who comes to investigate? What a brilliant way of killing someone, eh?" Lucy said, barely hiding the irony in her voice.

Sam looked at her. "Yeah, I read that in school but I rather think it's bizarre…not brilliant. Do you learn such things at uni?"

Lucy shot him a reproachful glance. "No!" She paused for a moment. "It was the last story Lauren read in school…when she still went to school." The way Lucy sighed showed that she had meant to say that it had been the last story Lauren had read in school when they had still let her go to school. To some extent, he could understand that some parents didn't like the idea of a possessed and possibly dangerous child to attend school with their own children. But those parents and teachers only knew half of the story, if so much at all.

Lucy kept herself busy with preparing dinner, putting the meat into the oven, cutting and cooking the beans, frying the potatoes, everything without saying a single word. Sam felt a bit out of place and so he turned around and left the kitchen to sit in front of the living room window again. He sat down and let his head fall into his hands. He didn't know – and he didn't care – how long he remained in this position.

The knock on the door startled them all. Sam was the first to jump up and over to check who was there. It was Dean.

"Hmmm…smelling good!" was all he said when he stepped in. He took off his jacket and carelessly threw it down on the floor as he walked into the kitchen. Lucy stood in a defence position, a knife ready in her hand.

"Wow, no offence but you're not going to throw that, are you?"

He could almost see the tension falling away from her but the hand with the knife dropped only slowly.

"Ok, I've got good news and bad news!" he stated, walked past Lucy and the knife and opened the fridge to take out a can of soda.

"What?" Sam watched him carefully. "Bad news first!" he demanded.

Dean frowned. "Everybody knows that we're involved here. Even in the next town. Rumours spread fast."

Sam frowned as well. "And the good news?" Sam turned at the sound of Lucy turning away as if she had already heard enough. She went back into the kitchen and busied herself wit

"I got a new windshield!" Dean smiled broadly.

Sam groaned and fought down the urge to slap his brother. "That's the good news?"

"Yeah!" Dean still grinned. Then he pulled out of his pocket a small piece of paper. "And I got this!"

Sam stepped closer and snatched the paper from his brother's hand. From what he could tell, it was a piece of a police record on something that had to do with Lucy and Lauren. There were no names, but the address was clearly visible.

"Where did you get that from?" Sam asked quietly.

"It kind of fell out a police man's pocket…"

"Really…"

"Yes…I just grabbed it before it hit the ground…and left…I didn't even have the time to get something to eat." He sniffed the air. "Hmmm…that smells delicious. When can we eat?"

Both brothers turned at the clinking sound when Lucy dropped the spoon she had used to sample the sauce.

"You must have spent hours slaving over the stove…" Dean said approvingly with his mouth full of chilli-honey-lamb. Now they were all sitting around the table, keeping themselves busy with eating. None of them had said a word so far. Sam and Lucy avoided to look at each other with Lauren sitting between them. Dean watched them curiously while munching.

Lucy looked at him. "Well, it wasn't much work, honestly. Marinade it, put it into the oven, wait 4 to 5 hours, pull it out, cut it, serve it…that's it. Oh, and don't forget the potatoes…" Her voice had an edge to it Sam didn't like.

"And that's it?"

"Yeah, that's it…"

Dean raised both eyebrows. "That's it? Really?"

"Yeah!" Now Lucy didn't smile anymore.

Dean forked another piece of meat into his mouth and avoided eye contact with Lucy. Sometimes – that he knew – it was better to shut up. Of course, he knew how much work it must have been. He remembered his mother's thanksgiving cooking and how long it had taken her to prepare everything all by herself. He had been just a 4 year old boy then but he was sure that the cooking habits had not changed so much nowadays.

Except for the chewing noises, it was quiet in the house, almost peaceful. After a while, Dan noticed that even Lucy seemed to relax a little.

Suddenly, this peace was shattered by a stone smashing through a window. Sam caught Lauren when she jerked back in horror at the sound, her face a white twisted mask of fear. She clang to him as if she was drowning and Sam held her with all his might. Her tiny shivering form inside his embrace brought tears to his eyes and probably for the first time he realized how much both Lauren and Lucy had suffered.

Lucy still sat on her chair, one hand with a fork carrying a potato wedge hanging in midair between the plate and her mouth. She had stopped breathing at the sound of the window breaking and did not move at all.

Dean had pushed back his chair and run over to the broken living room window. He carefully scanned the surroundings but nobody was there.

"Fucking Casper Milquetoast!" he shouted to no one in particular but he felt a bit better afterwards.

Now another sound startled them. Lucy had finally dropped the fork onto the plate. She now sat there with her hands in her lap and Sam saw a tear form in the corner of her eyes. He gently put down Lauren, then he stepped closer to Lucy. Ever so softly, he put one hand onto her shoulder. Lucy shivered under his touch and raised one hand to put it on his. They remained like that for a moment or two, then suddenly Lucy jumped up and fell into his arms where he held her close. He buried his face in the warm curve of her neck as she pressed herself against him. The shivering got stronger and when Sam pushed Lucy away a little to look into her eyes, he saw that she was fighting the tears. And once their gazes locked, Lucy felt that she was losing that fight.


	16. 6 Part 1

**VI**

To see her cry like that had left Sam extremely vexed and confused. The hunger was gone as was the warmth he had felt when he had held her in his arms. He still smelled her perfume and the bare skin of his arms longed to feel her skin again.

But there were more urgent matters that needed taking care of now. This stone was just a warning, probably the last one. Sam was sure, the townspeople would not stop at tearing down the house with Lucy and Lauren still inside. They really needed to hurry to find out why things were the way they were. Right now, they had absolutely no clue. There were a few hints on what it could be, but they needed to be sure.

"It's been quite a while since they broke the window last time…" Lucy said out of the sudden. "Most of the time, those three big guys walked up and down the street and the people stayed away."

Sam thought for a moment. "Those guys living in the Stevenson's house?"

"I think so…I've never been there after…" Lucy frowned a little. "I heard that they moved in the night after these horrible…after these things happened to the Stevenson's."

Sam nodded. In his head he tried to piece together every bit of information they had gathered so far. Lauren was supposed to be possessed by a demonic spirit and have killed many innocent people. She had been examined by a priest and a couple of doctors. The ten plagues were obviously also part of this picture. And the more the townspeople investigated, the more casualties and plagues there were. In his vision he had seen a room with 5 people burning and something in the back of his mind said that these three weird men also had a part in all of this. He wasn't sure but until now, his sense of the supernatural phenomena that were around him had never yet failed him.

Dean was still standing near the window, scanning the empty street. The sky had darkened quickly. He had stopped cursing and shouting by now but still looked very aggravated. Carefully he pried away the larger shards of glass so that no one would get hurt but it was obvious that he was not happy about these latest developments.

Carrying the shards of glass into the kitchen, he nearly bumped into Sam who seemed – again – lost in his thoughts.

"Watch it, man!" Dean hissed, steering clear of his younger brother. Sam snapped out of his trance like state and frowned.

"Dean, we really need to do something…"

"I know…"

"Then why ain't we doing something?" Sam had to work hard not to shout at his brother.

Dean was silent for a moment and looked at Sam. To some extent, he could understand him but the way he talked to him upset him. "We are doing something. At least, I'm doing something. I ain't sitting around here holding hands with Lucy!"

Sam looked hurt but bit back a remark. He knew that he had overreacted. Dean was right, Sam hadn't done much yet.

After a short pause, Sam quietly said: "So…what are we gonna do now? Any plans?"

Dean eyed his brother intensely. "Yes, what do you think? I always have a plan…"

Now it was Sam who gave his brother a questioning look. "Really…" But he didn't keep on bickering. Time was something they could not bother to waste.

He turned away and looked into the kitchen where Lucy was hugging Lauren who was sitting on the floor. From what he could see, Lauren did not seem to be scared at all if not but from seeing Lucy's tears. As he now continued to look at her, she helped Lauren up and led her into the living room where she sat her down onto the couch and switched on the TV. Sam could hear the introducing melody of the Smurfs' TV show again.

Then he felt Dean's hand on his shoulder. "We wait until nightfall and search the police station."

"You mean…breaking in?"

"Yeah, what else? We always do that."

"Sure, but is this not going to make the whole situation harder for the two of them?"

Dean frowned. "You know, it always gets worse before it gets better." It was what their father had always said when things were going rougher than anticipated. "It's the only way I see now to find out more about what is going on here. Who knows what we can find there…"

Sam nodded. He didn't actually like the idea of leaving Lauren and Lucy all by themselves but he couldn't let his brother break into the local police station alone, too. Dean would definitely get into trouble.

"You want to do what?" Lucy sounded a bit exasperated. Sam and Dean had walked into the living room to fill her in on their latest plan. Dean still beamed with joy. "Break into the police station? Are you nuts?" She had finally stopped walking around and now stood – arms crossed in front of her chest – in the middle of the living room.

Dean just smiled. "Maybe?"

With both eyebrows raised, Lucy glared at him. "Maybe?"

Sam held up one hand. "Lucy, please. We're just…"

"Trying to help?" Lucy bared her teeth. "Didn't you say that earlier as well?"

"And didn't we find out something? Lucy, I am not sure what you're thinking right now but things are not that easy. We don't know much right now but I think that we'll be a lot wiser after we searched the police station. From what I know, there were some things the police tried to cover up."

Lucy's questioning glance made him clench his jaws.

"When I was in the library, I met one of the women there and she filled me in on some of the mysteries." He could already read on her face that the fact of Sam talking to another woman did not make her happy. "We just talked…" He tried to explain but Lucy shook her head as if to wipe away the topic.

Sam sighed. What was he doing here? Why was he trying to defend himself? "She told me something about a police officer who had worked on the case of the deaths of the Stevenson's. Whatever is going on here, maybe it's better to start at the beginning…the night Lauren was born."

"Right…" was all Lucy said.

"So we'll make our move at nightfall." Dean added. "You better sit tight and wait for us."

"So you just want me to sit here with my thumps up my ass?" Lucy was furious.

"Oh, I'd die to see that!" Dean joked and ducked right in time. Lucy had grabbed a book and thrown it across the room. She had missed Dean's head only by a few inches. The book hit the wall and then the ground with many pages falling out of it.

Sam had stepped back. "Yes, that's exactly what we need you to do. Please, Lucy!"


	17. 6 Part 2

Sam felt horrible leaving Lucy in her upset state of mind alone in the house but after the attack with the stone, nothing else

Sam felt horrible leaving Lucy in her upset state of mind alone in the house but after the attack with the stone, nothing else had happened and the street was empty and quiet. He prayed that they would finally find something useful. Time was running out. He already felt the next wave of unwanted hatred approaching. And who knew what evil would hit them next. They had left the car in front of the Hawking's house to have some cover for themselves.

They waited until the last of the deputies had left the police station before they moved any closer. Dean quickly opened the door with a lock-pick and stepped in, flashlight ready but Sam put his hand onto his brother's arm to stop him from turning it on.

"Don't…they might see the light through the window." Sam pointed towards the windows through which the main road was clearly visible.

Dean nodded but cursed a little when he tripped over a paper bin and nearly fell only a second later.

"Quiet!" Sam hissed under his breath. "Try to find that file! Try to find something…"

"Yes sir!" Dean hissed back and gave his brother a hurt look. But he knew that they had to hurry.

Sam pulled open every drawer on his side of the bureau and scanned through the files to find the confidential report of Sergeant Adams Lindsay had spoken about but he had no luck. Carefully, he put everything back in the drawers as it was before and closed them before moving to the next. Dean did the same on the other side of the room where there were more drawers and boxes with files. When he opened the next drawer, he found something he hadn't expected to find there.

"Sam!" he whispered. "Sam! I found something! You gotta check this out!" Dean was at a loss of words to describe what he held in his hands. It was the file of which the piece of paper Dean had stolen from the cop earlier that day had come apart.

His brother came over and peered over Dean's shoulder. Dean held the black file in his hands. The upper right corner was missing and Dean pulled out the missing piece to hold it next to the file.

"What's this?" Sam asked while he read what was written on the black cover. 'Hawking, Lauren. Prosecution.'

"I don't know but it doesn't seem to belong here. This doesn't look like a real police report…It's too…thick" He flipped the first page open and nearly dropped the file.

There were medical reports and analysis files of Lauren Hawking, the statement of the priest who tried to exorcise the demon and also the various records of police work done on the Hawking's case. Almost every resident of Richmond had filed a report against Lauren. Most were about attacks or strange noises they had heard but which were never proven. But still, the police had followed each of the trails and often reprimanded and even sentenced Lucy and Lauren for that.

"Make copies of that…I guess that they'll notice when we just take them with us…" Sam suggested and continued his search. He carefully unlocked the door to the sergeant's office at the end of the room and stepped in. He needed to find more, even though he was not sure what he was looking for at all, but after what Dean had just found, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Those people were crazy. Lucy and Lauren were in grave danger, that he was sure of.

"You're right, this is not a police record, this is pure harassment and hatred. It says 'prosecution' as if they already sentenced her." Sam breathed hard.

"They have…" Dean said. "They already made up their minds about what to do. They want to tear down the house and drive them away."

At the back of the file Dean found medical reports. They were written on paper that had coffee and blood stains on them. Dean did not dare to touch them. He heard Sam gasp behind him. These reports clearly stated what had been done to Lauren, the dose and continuance of electroshocks, the medications, the unnecessary surgeries. Sam felt a strong wave of nausea and already tasted the bile at the back of his mouth. Now he realized that the scars on Lauren's body and the irregular growth of hair he had noticed were the results of the medical examinations.

"Sam…are you alright?" Dean whispered when he saw his brother sway a little.

"They…wanted to…destroy her…" Sam said with a shaky voice.

With a frenzy that came close to madness, Sam turned away and scrambled through stacks of paper and all the drawers while Dean kept on browsing through the drawers in the main room. He had seen the medical reports and what he had read there had turned his stomach. They had done the most horrible things to this little girl. But what for? To find out if she was possessed or if she committed the murders because she was schizophrenic? This all made no sense.

Now he understood why Lauren was acting so strangely. And he understood why Lucy was being so overprotective. The electroshock therapy and the drugs they'd given her must have had a great effect on her.

The last drawer was locked.

"Dean! Hand me the lock-pick?"

"You found something?" Dean hissed under his breath and approached him from behind. He pulled the lock-pick from the back pocket of his jeans and handed it over to his brother. Sam quickly opened the lock and pulled the drawer open.

"Not yet, but why is this thing here locked? Everything else is open…except for this one! That's strange…"

Dean agreed. The police station in his little town did not have anything of importance to hide in a locked drawer. It wasn't even a real police station, it was more like a sheriff's bureau. Sam carefully pried at the lock and pulled open the drawer.

There it was, the full report of Sergeant Adams. Sam coughed. He quickly read through the first page, then only flipped through the following pages. Dean had stopped searching his side of the office and moved over to his brother.

"You found something?"

Sam didn't answer. He was immersed in what he read on these pages. He turned one page back and forth, muttering under his breath.

"What is it?" Dean poked one elbow into his brother' side. "Talk to me, man!"

"Terminated…" Sam whispered. He remembered Lindsay telling him that Adams had died.

Dean turned in shock at the sound of his voice. "What?"

"This one, too…" Sam said when he turned to the next page. There had been another sergeant, Timothy McRyan, and on his profile page Sam saw the same stamp. "Terminated!"

"What are you talking about?" Dean snatched the file from his brother's hands. "Is that the police man you were talking about earlier?"

"No…that's another one…they're all dead…killed…" Sam's voice was barely audible.

"What?" Dean now read more carefully. Sergeant Adams, who had been investigating the murders of the Stevenson's, had not found any evidence that Lauren Hawkings had committed these murders. All he found were footsteps that could not be those of a child, let alone a baby.

Only a year after Adams had died, Sergeant McRyan had continued to investigate on the same subject. A few months later, he had been found dead, too.

Sergeant Adams' and the other deaths had not further been investigated on but still, this file here and Lauren's medical reports showed that someone had been interested in collecting all the detailed reports and so-called evidence that seemed to prove Lauren committed all these horrible murders but then, all of these people who filed the reports were dead. Except for the one who owned this file. And that someone wanted to keep it that way.

Lauren had been born that night, Sam thought. Maybe her birth had conjured up a demon or something like that? Someone else had to be responsible for that, then. The birth of a child always emitted a lot of energy but there had to be someone who was able to use this energy. Someone who knew, someone who needed a demon.

Suddenly, there was a noise, something was moving, scratching against metal. Dean snuck over to the window and peeked out, then he waved frantically at his brother, indicating to get down. Sam ducked and crawled over to the window.

"It's them!" Dean hissed.

"Who?"

"Those three assholes…"

"What?" Sam drew in a sharp breath. "What are…"

"Not sure, but they're coming in." Dean backed away from the window when he heard the door handle move and squeezed himself behind a tall drawer while Sam dove under the desk just in time when the lights went on. Both held their breath. Sam still had the file but when he peeked out from underneath the wooden desk he saw that Dean had closed the drawer before he had disappeared behind it. He had even reattached the lock. Sam let out a silent sigh. He wanted so much to continue reading, because there was so much more to discover in this file.

Dean couldn't see anything because the drawer was higher than himself so he hoped that Sam was able to see what was going on. Right now he just had to sit tight and be quiet until these men left again. Right now, it didn't seem like it would happen any time soon.

Three men stepped in, all wearing heavy boots crusted with dried mud. Sam wished that he could vanish into thin air but while he tried to back as far away against the footboard of the table under which he was hiding, he hoped that they had closed all the drawers they had opened only a few moments ago. And he prayed silently that these men had not come here to have a look at that file he was still holding in his hands. But as far as he could tell from his hiding place, they didn't come here to work.


	18. 6 Part 3

One of the men sat down on the table under which Sam was hiding, the other two remained standing

One of the men sat down on the table under which Sam was hiding, the other two remained standing.

"We have to be more careful…" said one of the guys who were standing. Sam couldn't see their faces but he recognized the voices, deep, aggressive, these guys really were the same guys who smack-talked them in front of Lucy's house and who Sam has seen around Lindsay's house as well. It had just been a lucky guess before but now he was 100 sure.

"Yes…" the man on the table agreed. "But we have to stop them from tearing down the house. We need the girl…"

Sam held his breath and his heart missed a few beats. They needed the girl? Lauren? What did they need her for? And what did he meant with having to stop the townspeople from tearing down the Hawking's house? Why were they so interested in Lauren and Lucy? While trying to piece together the new intel, Sam slowly crawled forward to get a better look at the men. He didn't get far, though, he nearly touched the dangling leg of the man sitting on the table.

"There are too many dead people now…" the third one now said. He was smaller than the others. "Two of the reporters in the hospital woke up out of their coma. These idiots of this police department went to question them…"

Sam heard the guy on the table draw in breath sharply.

"But don't worry, I took care of it…"

"You took care of it?" The man standing next to the small man grunted. "You killed them…"

"It was necessary-..." the small man replied harshly but the man on the table cut him off by raising a hand.

"Enough! I'm having enough of this bickering of you two! I know it was necessary but now we have two more bodies to cover up…And we only have 4 days left. Until then, we have to make sure that this town doesn't interfere any more than usual. We can't let anything unexpected come up. We have to be ready."

"What about the strangers?" the small man asked. "They've been asking around a lot. One of them was at the librarian's house…"

"The one that talks so much? Then I guess we have to pay her a visit…" The other man said and laughed.

"No! We cannot afford to attract more attention. We have to focus on the task."

Task? Which task, Sam wondered. At the same time he was afraid of what might happen to Lindsay just because she had tried to help him. And what did having to be ready mean? What would happen in 4 days?

"Just be a bit careful during these next few days, ok? Don't attract too much attention, you hear me?" The man on the table said. Then he stood up. "Please be careful!"

Sam tried to get closer without being seen. The man who seemed to be the leader moved towards the door. Peering out from underneath the table, Sam held his breath again and waited. Those guys didn't sound like police men at all but they had access to this building. What could they possibly want from Lauren? And what were they going to do? There were so many questions that were on his mind that he nearly got reckless. He had crawled out from underneath his hiding place and could have been easily spotted by one of the three guys but the moment he scrambled back, he saw the leader turn. His eyes were black…Sam had to suppress a gasp, those guys were demons, black eyed demons! Now Sam seemed to understand…These men, these demons, they needed Lauren to free another demon or to free themselves. The incidents that had taken place during Lauren's birth had somehow made that child special to these guys.

The light was switched off and the door closed behind the demons. Sam finally breathed normally again and his heart was racing in his chest. These guys were demons…While he got up onto his feet, he heard the drawer move and jumped back. But it was just Dean coming out of his hiding place.

"So…found out anything?" Dean asked.

Sam shot him a reproachful frown. "Dean, didn't you hear what they were talking about? And by the way, those are black eyed demons!"

"What?" Dean looked stunned. "I mean, I guessed so but…really?"

"Yeah, really! I've seen it." Sam clenched his jaws.

"Right, cause you had the better spot." Dean joked. He noticed that his younger brother was going through a rough time right now. "Did they mean Lauren with the girl?"

Sam only nodded.

"And what's going to happen in 4 days?" Dean asked again but quickly answered the question himself when he saw Sam's face. "We better find out?"

Sam nodded slowly.

"Then we better find out!"

When the two brothers returned to the Hawking's house, they saw demolition vehicles parked in front of the house. There were shards of glass on the sidewalk and in the small garden before the house, and Sam was sure that those didn't still lie there from the incident earlier this day. The door was smashed in. Sam nearly jumped out of the car before Dean had stopped. He ran over to the house and stumbled up the stairs.

"LUCY!" he shouted but he got no answer. "LUCY! WHERE ARE YOU?" The house seemed empty. With haste that came close to frenzy Sam ran into the kitchen only to find everything in a mess. Two of the cupboards had been torn down and their content lay shattered on the floor. But Lucy or Lauren were nowhere to be seen. He ran back into the living room where the couches lay upside down and the tables broken into pieces. The drawings of Lauren that Lucy had given him still lay on the TV rack. So the strangers who broke into here were not interested in finding any more evidences. Absentmindedly, he took them, then headed for the stairs.

"LUCY!" Sam's voice was failing. He took three steps at once when he now ran upstairs and busted into Lauren's bedroom. "LAUREN!" The scene of the room gave him a pretty clear impression of what had happened here. Whoever had broken in here had surprised the little girl in her sleep. The cushions from the bed as well as the teddy bears and the blanket had been thrown around in the small room, the bed itself was stained with mud. Sam fell to his knees, crumpling the drawings unconsciously. "Lucy…where are you…" he whispered while he tried hard to suppress the upcoming tears.

Dean came in a moment later. He carried the file they had stolen from the police station. His eyes told Sam that he was as worried as he was himself. Where were the girls?

"Did those demons do that?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam only shook his head. He couldn't speak.

"Sam?" Dean's voice got louder and more intense. "Sam, what happened here?"

Sam's grunting reply was answer enough for him. Someone had come to get the girls, and had probably succeeded in getting them. Probably not the demon-guys, because Lauren was too important for them and whatever they were planning would go off in 4 days, and not now. At least, that's what they had said.

Sam slowly stood up. He did not look at his brother when he turned and left the room but Dean followed him. Both walked down the stairs without speaking. Dean hated to see his brother like that but right now he didn't have time to be sorry for him. What was more important now was to find the two girls.

While Sam walked past the kitchen and the living room, Dean stopped for a moment and looked around. The mess he saw made his heartbeat quicken but when he gazed out of the kitchen window for a second his heart missed a beat. There was a white shape out there, down by the lake.

"Sam!" Dean hissed. His younger brother came back only reluctantly.

"What!"

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Sam was edgy.

"Out there…I think I saw Lauren."

The look Sam gave his brother was more than devastating.

"Yeah, I really think I saw her…" Dean snapped. "Sam, get it together, we'll find them!" He tried to encourage his younger brother but it didn't seem to work. Sam was lost.


	19. 7 Part 1

VII

**VII.**

The Winchester brothers left the house through the back door. A soft but steady rain had set in. Dean scanned the surroundings but he couldn't see anything. The darkness of the night now seemed to have grown more intense, more threatening, more deep. Dean clenched his jaws and sighed. Sam didn't make a sound at all. He just stepped out and forward down towards the lake. Dean could feel the tension by just looking at his brother's backside but followed silently. He didn't question why Sam walked towards the lake, he trusted his brother's instincts but when Sam then turned left, Dean hesitated.

"Sam? Where are you going?" Of course, he got no answer. With another sigh he followed him. Then he saw what Sam was heading towards.

"'That the Stevenson's house?" Dean asked, a little out of breath. "You think they're in there?"

Sam turned around with a frown.

"No, I take it?" Dean said jokingly but dropped the grin right away. Sam blinked at him, almost as if he couldn't understand a single word his brother was saying, then he shrugged and turned around. The rain had increased in both frequency and intensity.

"Lucy?" he shouted instead. Dean strained his ears but he couldn't hear anything and looking at Sam, he knew that his brother hadn't heard anything as well. Then the look on Sam's face changed, his eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly. With a quick motion, he spun around and darted over into a patch of thick undergrowth. Dean jumped after him. It was only when he saw the shapes of the girls in the undergrowth that he noticed the little traces Sam had followed. There were patches of leaves crushed into the ground, grass torn from the earth, traces, tracks and marks of someone running, falling, scrambling back up onto their feet, trying to find a place to hide. Dean moved closer.

Lauren lay flat on her back, eyes closed, dark dirt covering her face, arms and bare feet and legs. When Sam got closer, he realized that it was blood, and not dirt. Lauren didn't move. And then he saw Lucy, sitting on her knees, bent over Lauren's lifeless body, immobile as well. Sam dropped to his knees as well, as if a sudden and invisible blow had knocked him down. He crawled towards Lucy, blinded by upcoming tears, his heart beating so fast and hard in his chest that he thought he was dying. Once he reached her, he grabbed for her arm but instead of her raising her head and looking at him, she fell into his arms unconsciously. In the darkness, Sam couldn't really see her face but he felt a constant drip of warm and thick liquid from her head. He had to draw in a sharp breath but tried to focus. He shook his head and lifted Lucy into his embrace to carry her into safety. Dean followed with Lauren in his arms.

Without saying a word, they walked over to the Impala and put the girls onto the backseat as careful as possible, then they got in as well. For a moment which seemed to last an eternity, they stared into nothingness. Then finally, Dean looked at his brother.

"Sam?"

Sam didn't answer. He kept staring ahead into the void of something that was totally his own.

"Sam!" This time Dean's voice had an edge to it that made Sam snap out of his daze. But the look he gave his older brother told Dean that Sam was crushed, hopeless and full of despair. Dean had to sigh, it was hard to see his brother like that. But they needed to talk about what to do next.

When he breathed in to speak up again, Sam turned to him. "What are we gonna do now, Dean?" With only the smallest gesture of his hand he included Lucy and Lauren on the backseat, his eyes reddened and his voice hoarse.

"I don't know…guess find a motel somewhere, as a first?"

Sam nodded slowly without looking at his brother, so Dean started the car and drove on into the blackness of the night.

They stopped at the first motel sign on the road just outside Richmond. The no vacancy sign lightened the parking area with pale and unreal blue light, flickering from time to time.

Dean had stopped only once at 24 hour pharmacy to get some bandages and aspirin for the girls. Sam had stayed with them in the car, his heart racing, his mind hurting, his eyes burning from the many silent tears he was crying when Dean wasn't looking.

The Richmond Green Motel was situated on a hill overlooking a golf court and since there was not much traffic on the main road at this hour of night, it seemed peaceful and quiet. Dean had returned with the key to their apartment, furnished only with two king-size beds and a TV-set on the wall on the other side of the room. The walls were painted grey which was also the colour of the floor covering.

"Pure luxury…" Dean muttered under his breath when he came in, carrying Lauren in his arms, but Sam ignored him. He held Lucy in a tight embrace and was reluctant to lay her down on one of the beds. When he pulled his arm out from underneath her head, he saw that the sleeve his light blue shirt was soaked with blood. Lucy must have been bleeding pretty badly. He shot a quick glance at his brother. He knew how precious Dean was about his car which now was probably soaked with blood as well. While he tried to make her as comfortable as possible, Dean went to the bathroom and got two bowls filled with water and all the towels he could find. He placed one bowl of water next to the bed Lucy lay on and handed Sam a couple of towels which Sam took with a thankful smile. When their eyes met, Dean saw the desperation that Sam felt so intensely. Both girls were in a pretty bad shape and Dean knew that Sam blamed himself for that.

Without saying anything, Sam soaked one towel and began to clean Lucy's face. The more dirt and blood he wiped away, the more bruises and cuts he discovered. It pained him to see Lucy like that but he knew that he had to take care of her now even though he had sworn himself to never get involved in anything like that or let anyone get that close to him after Jessica's death.

Carefully, he cleaned her arms as well. The water in the bowl was already deep red as was the towel he was using to wipe away the blood and dirt. From time to time, a deep sigh or a sob escaped his throat, but Dean pretended to not have heard it and Sam was grateful for that.

After he was done, he adjusted her head on the pillow, careful to not put too much pressure on the bruised spots. He felt the warmth of her skin against his hands as he held her head. Then he let her go and pulled the blanket up to her chin to keep her warm. For a moment he just watched her silently, mesmerizing every inch of her pale milky white skin, her dark brown hair which now curled against her skin and framed her face. He knew he shouldn't feel this way after he had denied himself so much, but he felt the choice he was about to make went against better judgment.

Suppressing a sigh, he bit his lower lip and moved over to Dean who had fallen asleep with the towel in his hands and Lauren's head on his shoulder.

"Dude!" Sam poked his brother's side, not very gently. "Dean, wake up!"

Dean jumped up and reached for his gun that he kept tucked in his jeans underneath his shirt, always close, never out of reach. Sam put one hand onto his arm to calm him down.

"What..? Who…?" Dean stammered and rubbed his eyes. "What the…why did you wake me? I just had the sweetest dream…"

"About what?" Sam shot a quick glance at Lauren who had also opened her reddened eyes, looking at the two brothers questioningly.

Dean followed his brother's gaze and shook his head hastily. He gave his brother an odd look. "Dude, no! What are you thinking?" he hissed while pushing Lauren back down into the pillows and underneath the blanket.

Sam didn't reply to that. While Dean was talking, he looked over to Lucy. She hadn't woken up during Dean's noisy reaction and Sam was grateful for that. It had taken quite a long time for her to finally find some rest.

Sam clenched his jaws again and sighed. "Dean, where is the file?"

Dean had already fallen against the cushions and was about to close his eyes again. Sleepily, he raised one hand and pointed to his jacket which he had flung carelessly onto a chair. He waved his hand a couple of times with his eyes closed, motioning Sam away from him. With another sigh, Sam stepped away from his brother and began to search for the file. He rummaged through Dean's clothes until he finally found what he was looking for, the file from the police station.


	20. 7 Part 2

Sam returned to Lucy's bed and sat down beside her, the file in his hand

Sam returned to Lucy's bed and sat down beside her, the file in his hand. He drew in a deep breath and let it out with a shaky sigh and clenched his jaws when he looked at her but the slow but steady rise and fall of her chest gave him the reassurance he needed that Lucy was sleeping. Dean had fallen asleep again beside Lauren and she had wrapped both hands around his left arm as if to make sure that he would not go anywhere during the night. Sam let his gaze travel from his brother to Lauren and then back to Lucy who was so close to him that he could touch her if he only reached out for her hand. But he didn't want to wake her now that she finally got to rest a bit.

As silent as he could, he browsed through the pages, absorbing every piece of information without judging what was important or not. He just needed to know everything and he prayed that there was something that would help them understand more about these demons or whatever it was that they wanted. Sam was sure that there was something.

The earliest dates in that file showed that someone had started to file reports about the Hawking's and Lauren in particular in the night Dr. Stevenson got killed – which also was the night Lauren had been born.

Right after sergeant McAdams had been brutally killed, Lauren had been locked away in a medical facility to check if there were any psychological evidences that she could have committed the murders of the Stevenson's family and sergeant McAdams. This must have been the first time she had suffered from the drugs and electroshock therapy. Sam felt a twinge of sadness when he read about what they had done to the little girl. They had seen so many weird and strange things in their lives but from the viewpoint of humanity, these were the most horrible things they've ever experienced. The other incidents, the brutal attacks and mutilations that happened to these reporters were another thing. How could anyone ever think that someone of Lauren's age and size have the physical strength to injure a grown up person like that? Of course, he, too, knew the stories about possessed people who suddenly had the strength to lift up a car or do anything of that sort. Even children were able to do something when they were possessed, the lore said. But after movies like The Exorcist people were led to believe that things like that really could really happen.

During Lauren's stay in the medical facility, the other sergeant, Timothy McRyan, disappeared for three days and was found dead and badly mutilated down by the lake behind the Hawking's house. What Sam found strangely interesting was the stamp that rendered McRyan's profile terminated.

"Terminated…" Sam whispered. "What could that mean?" After a worried glance to sleeping Lucy beside him to check if he had woken her up with his straying thoughts he turned back to the file. When he first had looked into the file he had thought that this stamp had marked the termination of the file after Adams' and McRyan's death but now he felt differently about it. Both Adams and McRyan had been investigating in this case and both had died a violent death. Piecing together the information of the three brothers being demons and all the dead people, he finally understood. The sergeants had been terminated, killed, murdered by the three brothers because they had probably found out too much. But then why keep a file? Why keep records of something like that?

For long moments, he sat there, staring onto the page, trying to put together everything. With all the information from the file, he could only begin to understand what had been happening. Lauren functioned as some sort of scapegoat after having added the energy that was necessary for these demonic brothers to escape from hell or so it seemed. But still, it didn't make much sense to him. Why were those things happening? For a moment he pondered upon what he could do and then it came to him. Why hadn't he thought about that before? He stood up again, walked over to the other bed and gently touched Dean's shoulder. With a startled expression in his eyes, Dean woke up and sat up straight in the bed. It took him a moment to realize what was going on and when he felt the tiny hand of Lauren in his he stopped moving around.

"What is it?" he whispered, still sleepy.

"We have to go and check the Stevenson's house!" Sam murmured rapidly. "There's still something I don't get, something that I think I'll find in the Stevenson's house."

"Calm down, Sammy! What are you talking about?" Dean spoke while trying to pry Lauren's little fingers from his hand without waking her.

"Sergeant Adams and Sergeant McRyan were killed!" Sam blurted out.

"Yeah, I know!"

"No, you don't understand what I'm trying to say! It wasn't Lucy, it were these guys, the three demons!"

"Yeah, I figured as much." Dean smiled a little and wiped his eyes again.

"What?" Sam glared at him. "You knew?"

"Never said that, Sammy, I only said I figured as much. I knew Lauren couldn't have done it, so I figured as much!"

Sam was silent for a moment but the frown on his forehead showed Dean clearly that Sam was not very happy with that kind of answer.

"What else did you find out?" Dean asked just for peace's sake.

Sam didn't look at him. "Not much…we need to go to the Stevenson's place and check if there's something. I know…there has to be something!"

Dean looked at his brother and realized how desperate he was. "Ok, ok…calm it, dude! We'll go and check it out. Tomorrow, ok? Try to get some sleep now! And please, don't read anymore and don't wake me anymore, you hear me?" He fell against the cushion and yawned. "Go!"

When Sam returned to the bed, he watched Dean push Lauren away a bit and then pull her into his embrace with one hand while struggling a little with the blanket with his other hand. Once he was satisfied with how he and the tiny girl were covered, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, starting to snore right away. Lauren snuggled up against him and Sam was sure that she felt totally secure now. She would get a good night's rest now. Lucy, on the other hand, was a different matter. There would be no time and place for them, even though Sam didn't want to admit to that. He felt strangely attracted to her, attracted in a way that he had never imagined he could be to anyone. It was totally different to his attraction to Jessica or to Sarah a few months ago, this fascination was a more fundamental one, a more familiar one. The way Lucy cared about Lauren, the way she gave everything to make her sister safe, both impressed and reminded him of his own brother Dean. Dean – so much he knew – would give his life for Sam, any time, any place, without further questions or consideration. Just as Sam would do in return for Dean.

Sam felt his heart pound against his chest, shouting out in rage, trying to break out of its cage. His mind on the other side quietened the racing heart with images of Jessica burning, nailed to the ceiling, and with strange ideas of Lucy having to face the same fate if Sam would give in to his heart's folly wishes and longings. He knew he had always been too considerate for a man his age and background and so he knew that it would have been foolish to rush things and break into the Stevenson's old place right away during the night with no preparation or consideration beforehand, because they didn't know what these demonic sons of bitches were capable of. Breaking into a house full of demons would not only be dangerous to them, it would also endanger Lauren and Lucy.

So all he could do right now was sit tight and wait…


	21. 7 Part 3

Even though he was tired, he found it hard to calm himself down. Inside, he felt his mind racing, going though all the information, ideas and possibilities again and again. He felt dizzy but he couldn't stop. Trying to breathe normally, he sat down onto Lucy's bed and watched her for a moment which seemed like an eternity to him. Suddenly, he felt a wave of nausea rush through him and he felt his head spin. Bending down, he put both hands to his head and tried to breathe but he could only drew in breath raggedly and for a moment he thought he was going to suffocate. Then, he coughed and spat out a dry lump, crusted with a black something – which tasted like blood – almost covering the something inside. It was a piece of paper, parchment, old with the edges burnt as if someone had tried to destroy it without succeeding, as Sam found out after scratching away some of the blood. He knew that it wasn't his own blood because it was dry as a bone and when he probed his mouth with his tongue, he could not taste any more of it. With care he pried the ragged paper and tried to read what was written on it. The letters were faded and barely readable but what he read suddenly made perfect sense. This piece of parchment was an instruction on how to summon a red-eyed demon, a demon similar to the cross-roads demon but this one required much more knowledge and definitely a lot more payment.

As another wave of nausea rushed through him, he felt as if the room around him would collapse and crush him. The paper in his hands crumpled and disappeared into nothingness. All that was left was the blood which suddenly turned liquid and stained his hands. The temperature rose until it reached a nearly unbearable level and Sam found it hard to breathe.

"It's just a dream…" he kept reminding himself but his visions had never felt like a dream. Trying hard to focus and find a way out of this nightmare, he braced himself against the heat and stumbled forward, crouched on all fours. Even though he thought he was moving quickly, he felt as he was covering no ground at all. Like an insect caught in a spiders web, Sam saw no way to escape this inferno. With every step he took, with every touch of his hand against the floor, he felt more blood, warm, thick, sticky, almost flowing upwards on his hands and arms. Soon, he was covered with blood that was not his own. He tried to stand up, despite the heat of the fire, despite the biting smoke, despite his mind telling him to stay down. This must be a vision, he told himself. The motel room could not be on fire. Once he stood, he squinted his eyes and tried to look through the smoke to see…to see anything at all. His brother, Lauren…Lucy. But they weren't there. He was alone in a strange room. And then he noticed the windows, the tiles, the panels covering the walls. This was the same room he had been in the first vision. And now that he had the information he and his brother had gathered before, he put together a few of the pieces of the puzzle that was their case. The room he was in must be a room in the Stevenson's old mansion. And once that thought realized itself in Sam's mind, the fire fell away, as did the smoke and the blood. An instant later, Sam stood right where he had stood before, in front of the bed Lucy lay on. There were no traces of a fire or blood on his hands. Everything was normal again.

He swayed a little as he breathed in the cool air of the motel room and dropped onto the bed when he felt he couldn't keep his balance. He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them again quickly because he feared being overwhelmed by another vision. But when he opened his eyes, he saw that Lucy had woken up and now half sat in the bed, watching him. The bruises on her face made him flinch even after this terrible vision experience but the look in her dark reddened eyes made him want to cry. She tried a smile but it seemed to hurt so she merely extended a hand, slowly, carefully. Sam followed her silent and timid gesture, and crawled onto the bed. Why his limbs moved, Sam didn't know, because the little voice in his head was screaming not to do so. Lucy moved a bit to one side so that Sam could slip under the blanket. The sudden warmth he felt there made him dizzy once more but this time it felt good. The girl had almost fallen back to sleep but as he settled himself into the cushions, she gently cuddled herself against him.

It was the unusual sound of a beautiful morning that woke him. He wasn't used to birds singing and sunshine tickling his skin. Sam breathed in slowly and noticed a faint scent of warm sweat next to him and when he opened his eyes, he looked into a face framed by black hair. Lucy's paleness was so clearly visible now that the sun lit the room, making the bruises bloom bright on the nearly transparent milky white skin. Unconsciously, he raised one hand and let his finger trail along her cheek and jaw. She moved a little under his touch and he realized that he was holding her in his arms, that she had been sleeping with her head on his shoulder. Slowly, she opened her eyes and there it was again, that shy smile that nearly broke his heart. What was happening here? His mind battled with his heart when he wondered if he should let her out of his embrace but she didn't try to struggle free. For a moment they stayed like this, close together, simply enjoying each other's soothing company, then Lucy sat up in her bed as if the memories of last night's terror came back all out of the sudden. She frantically scanned the room and Sam could almost hear her draw in breath after a moment of total silence when Lucy saw that Lauren was still sleeping, safe and protected by Dean. Both were still sleeping, so Lucy fell back against the cushions, sighing. Sam moved a little away from her to give her enough space but she turned to him. Her brown eyes seemed so deep and dark in that Sam thought they were of the bluest black he'd ever seen. For a moment he lost himself in these eyes but then he remembered how much the bruises in her face and on her body must hurt. He quickly lowered his gaze and looked away.

Lucy moved uneasily now, trying to sit up in the bed. Sam also moved to give her the space she needed and helped her a little. Her movements were slow and her face clearly showed the pain she felt while moving. A cry of pain escaped her mouth and another followed, this time a cry of anxiety, when Dean jumped up and out of the bed, his gun ready at hand, having been woken by the first cry.

"Die, you bastard!" Dean shouted, pointing his gun aimlessly into the room, his eyes still half closed with sleep. Then, he noticed that no demon had forced entry into the room. He lowered his gun and wiped his eyes. "What is going on here?" he demanded while slumping down onto the bed, which in return woke up Lauren. She seemed a lot better than Lucy because she moved without pain, or so it seemed. She was such a brave little girl, Sam thought. He slipped out of the bed and took a few steps towards his brother. When he turned around, he saw that Lucy was trying to get up. He rushed over to her and pushed her back.

"You need to rest…" he said and smiled lopsided.

Lucy raised one hand and put it onto his for a short time, then she felt the bruises on her face. Sam winced under her questioning look.

"Do you know who did this? Did you see their faces?" he asked after a moment.

"No!" Lucy sobbed. "No, I don't know!" She was desperate. "Maybe those three guys did that? I mean, they've been lurking around the house since…"

Dean shook his head. "No…"

"What? How can you know?"

"We know…we saw them at the police station." Sam said and hung his head.

"But what…" Lucy sounded desperate so Sam turned to her. He looked her into the eye and sighed. "We saw them there while you…while this happened to you. It was not their doing." Lucy's eyes were full of question.

Dean was losing his patience. "Those three guys that live in the Stevenson's house, they are demons and it seems as if they didn't want you to leave this house…" Dean stated without thinking much about it. In the silence that followed, he watched Lucy's face and saw her eyes widen. But she remained quiet. "D'you hear me?" he asked again, this time with a bit more force. Sam gave his brother an odd look but he understood why Dean was pushing the subject.

Lucy frowned at him and nodded. "I heard you alright… but demons…? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Yeah..demons. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and only insecurely controlled." Dean tried to explain while Sam rolled his eyes. "But in general, they're just really bad boys. One thing is strange, though…we don't know why they're here or what they're after, but it seems clear that they need Lauren for whatever it is they are about to do."

"Need Lauren? Not wanting us to leave the house? What does that all mean?" Lucy buried her head in her hands.

"We haven't figured that out yet, but these guys are here for a reason…" Sam said, letting his voice trail off.


End file.
